LAUSR

The stimuli-responsiveness of injectable hydrogel has been drastically developed for the controlled release of drugs and achieved encouraging curative effects in a variety of diseases including wounds, cardiovascular diseases and tumors. The gelation, swelling and degradation of such hydrogels respond to endogenous biochemical factors (such as pH, reactive oxygen species, glutathione, enzymes, glucose) and/or to exogenous physical stimulations (like light, magnetism, electricity and ultrasound), thereby accurately releasing loaded drugs in response to specifically pathological status and as desired for treatment plan and thus improving therapeutic efficacy effectively. In this paper, we give a detailed introduction of recent progresses in responsive injectable hydrogels and focus on the design strategy of various stimuli-sensitivities and their resultant alteration of gel dissociation and drug liberation behaviour. Their application in disease treatment is also discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.