Stimuli-responsive polymers: biomedical applications and challenges for clinical translation.

Over the past 25 years many interesting biomedical uses have been proposed for stimuli-responsive polymers, including uses in diagnostics, drug delivery, tissue engineering (regenerative medicine), and cell culture. This article briefly overviews the field of stimuli-responsive polymers and describes some of the most successful biomedical applications to date of such "smart" polymers. Other interesting potential applications are also discussed. The major barriers to future clinical translation of smart polymers are also critically discussed.