investigated the uptake and release of nonionic PEO-based surfactants inside poly- N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) microgels. Besides ibuprofen and other drugs, also many surfactants were investigated due to their tunable interactions with microgel particles. In this particular context, stimuli-responsive hydrogels have been examined as promising candidates in detail during the past decades concerning their uptake and release ability of different kinds of molecules. For this purpose, synthetic polymers are becoming more interesting as therapeutic agents, since these usually show better pharmacokinetics compared with small molecule drugs due to longer circulation time. In addition, targeted release of the required amount of the drug minimizes side effects in other regions of the body which should not be treated. Here, the main aim is the targeted release of active ingredients while the bio-availability is maintained, thus preventing the premature degradation of the drug. In recent years, drug release has become increasingly important in human medicine and the health sector.
One of the most promising ideas for a possible biomedical application of microgels has always been their use as drug delivery systems. Nowadays, stimuli-responsive microgels are investigated as potential candidates for a lot of applications in many different fields ranging from catalytic microreactors to cell culture substrates.