Temperature and pH responsive polymers based on chitosan: Applications and new graft copolymerization strategies based on living radical polymerization

The present review aims to highlight the applications of pH and temperature responsive chitosan-based polymers. Such materials are used in the development of several applications, such as drug delivery systems, bioseparation devices, tissue engineering scaffolds, cell culture supports, sensors or actuators systems. Advances in this field are particularly relevant to applications in the areas of regenerative medicine and drug delivery. This review addresses mainly smart polymers, derived from chitosan, including particulate carrier systems, hydrogels and film based materials that are responsive to stimuli such as temperature and pH. A survey of the major contributions is presented. Finally, this review summarizes and analyses recent developments in the field of graft modification of chitosan by living radical polymerization.