Recent strategies to develop pH-sensitive injectable hydrogels

"Smart" biomaterials that are responsive to pathological abnormalities are an appealing class of therapeutic platforms for the development of personalized medications. The development of such therapeutic platforms requires novel techniques that could precisely deliver therapeutic agents to the diseased tissues, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects without harming normal tissues. Among various therapeutic platforms, injectable pH-responsive biomaterials are promising biomaterials that respond to the change in environmental pH. Aqueous solutions of injectable pH-responsive biomaterials exhibit a phase transition from sol-to-gel in response to environmental pH changes. The injectable pH-responsive hydrogel depot can provide spatially and temporally controlled release of various bioactive agents including chemotherapeutic drugs, peptides, and proteins. Therapeutic agents are imbibed into hydrogels by simple mixing without the use of toxic solvents and used for long-term storage or in situ injection using a syringe or catheter that could form a stable gel and acts as a controlled release depot in a minimally invasive manner. Tunable physicochemical properties of the hydrogels, such as biodegradability, ability to interact with drugs and mechanical properties, can control the release of the therapeutic agent. This review highlights the advances in the design and development of biodegradable and in situ forming injectable pH-responsive biomaterials that respond to the physiological conditions. Special attention has been paid to the development of amphoteric pH-responsive biomaterials and their utilization in biomedical applications. We also highlight key challenges and future directions of pH-responsive biomaterials in clinical translation.