The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Bioresponsive polymers are polymers that modulate their structure and function in response to disease-specific microenvironments. This adaptability enables active interaction with biological systems, leading to their increasing use as drug delivery platforms. Among these systems, we have focused on protein-like biopolymers based on dynamic constitutional chemistry (CDC) and have explored their application as effective gene delivery carriers and antibiotic potentiators. Notably, these polymers undergo structural rearrangement under acidic conditions, making them particularly well-suited for tumor microenvironments, where pronounced pH gradients can be exploited to enhance drug selectivity and safety. Recently, we additionally demonstrated that biodynamers incorporating active drugs can overcome limitations of drug candidate in toxicity through selective drug activation and further highlight their potential to extend beyond pH‐responsive carriers toward dynamic polymeric prodrugs.