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Review
. 2016 Jan 25;2(1):6.
doi: 10.3390/gels2010006.

Stimuli Responsive Poly(Vinyl Caprolactam) Gels for Biomedical Applications

Kummara Madhusudana Rao  1 , Kummari Subba Venkata Krishna Rao  2   3 , Chang-Sik Ha  4
Affiliations
Review

Stimuli Responsive Poly(Vinyl Caprolactam) Gels for Biomedical Applications

Kummara Madhusudana Rao et al. Gels. .

Abstract

Poly(vinyl caprolactam) (PNVCL) is one of the most important thermoresponsive polymers because it is similar to poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide). PNVCL precipitates from aqueous solutions in a physiological temperature range (32⁻34 °C). The use of PNVCL instead of PNIPAM is considered advantageous because of the assumed lower toxicity of PNVCL. PNVCL copolymer gels are sensitive to external stimuli, such as temperature and pH; which gives them a wide range of biomedical applications and consequently attracts considerable scientific interest. This review focuses on the recent studies on PNVCL-based stimuli responsive three dimensional hydrogels (macro, micro, and nano) for biomedical applications. This review also covers the future outlooks of PNVCL-based gels for biomedical applications, particularly in the drug delivery field.

Keywords: biomedical applications; gels; poly(vinyl caprolactam); stimuli responsive.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of the thermoresponsive polymers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Synthesis and dual responsive-triggered release of the drug from semi-Interpenetrating Polymeric Networks (semi-IPNs) of SAlg-P(AAm-co-AGA-co-NVCL) multi component gels and the formation of Ag NPs in the hydrogel networks. (Reproduced from Rama Subba Reddy et al., Macromol. Res. 2014, 8, 832–842. (Ref. 74) copyright 2014 with permission from Springer).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Synthesis of the graft copolymers of CS and SAlg with NVCL [75,77]. (Reproduced from Madhusudana-Rao et al., J. Appl. Pharm. Sci. 2013, 3, 061–069(Ref. 75) copyright 2013 with permission from Journal and Prabaharan et al., Macromol. Biosci. 2008, 8, 843–851 (Ref. 77) copyright 2008 with permission from John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
Figure 4
Figure 4
pH and temperature responsive nature of NGs [85]. (Reproduced from Madhusudana Rao et al., Colloids Surf. B 2013, 102, 891–897 (Ref. 87) copyright 2013 with permission from Elsevier).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Aqueous dispersions of NGs and (b) curcumin-loaded NGs. (Reproduced from Sudhakar et al., Des. Monomers Polym. 2015, 18, 705–713. (Ref. 86) copyright 2015 with permission from Taylor and Francis).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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