Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Responsive Polymers for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in cell signaling pathways, while increased production of ROS may disrupt cellular homeostasis, giving rise to oxidative stress and a series of diseases. Utilizing these cell-generated species as triggers for selective tuning polymer structures and properties represents a promising methodology for disease diagnosis and treatment. Recently, significant progress has been made in fabricating biomaterials including nanoparticles and macroscopic networks to interact with this dynamic physiological condition. These ROS-responsive platforms have shown potential in a range of biomedical applications, such as cancer targeted drug delivery systems, cell therapy platforms for inflammation related disease, and so on. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) responsive polymeric materials, including nanoparticles, scaffolds, and hydrogels, have received progressive attention for their potential in biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and antioxidation in vivo. ROS responsive moieties are capable of displaying unique variation under oxidative stress, such as hydrophobic-hydrophilicity transition and ROS-induced degradation. Representative polymeric materials containing ROS responsive units are summarized in this review.