Nanostructured Conducting Polymers and Their Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Much attention has been paid to nanostructured conducting polymers due to their unique properties, which arise from their nanoscale size, such as their large surface area, high electrical conductivity, electrochemical stability and quantum effects. This article reviews three methods to synthesize nanostructured conducting polymers and their applications in the biomedical field, focusing specifically on neural probes, biosensors, artificial muscles or actuators and controlled drug release. Challenges and future directions of these nanostructured conducting polymer are also discussed.

Structural and Conformational Chemistry from Electrochemical Molecular Machines. Replicating Biological Functions. A Review

“…During reactions the polymer‐ion relative composition change driving the shift of the value of any composition‐dependent property of the material. They replicate biological functional reactions, biological functions and biological organs ,. Several properties of the dense gel change simultaneously in a uniform device driven by the same reaction giving unparalleled artificial multi‐tool devices.…”

Porous conducting polymer prepared through liquid crystal template for drug delivery

“…It forms different phases (lamellar, cubic, hexagonal) at different lipid to water ratios and temperatures [9,10]. Using a soft template such as a phytantriol liquid crystal, through which PPy is polymerised, is advantageous owing to its simple preparation, and ability to remove the template after polymerisation without destroying the formed porous structures [11].…”

Structural electrochemistry. Chronopotentiometric responses from rising compacted polypyrrole electrodes: experiments and model

“…They constitute the basic molecular motors origin of the macroscopic structural variations of the lm (swelling, shrinking, conformational compaction and conformational relaxation) and of different devices as polymeric articial muscles, 3,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] smart membranes with structural control of the transversal ionic mobility 2,27-34 or faradaic drug storage and drug delivery of different counterions. [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Reaction (1) promotes the reduction under diffusion control of the counterions (through the oxidized and swollen lm) towards the solution: the lm shrinks and closes its structure still under a partial oxidized state. The reduction goes on aer closing at high cathodic overpotentials, now under kinetic control of the slow conformational movements that allows the exit of the counterions through the rising conformational packed structure.…”