Conductive Polymers: Photo-Active Tools with Medical and Pharmaceutical Applications

Document Type : Original Article

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Pharmaceutical technology unit, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES), Cairo University

Abstract

Applications of conductive polymers cover a wide variety of fields in medicine, pharmacy, industry and agriculture. Properties of conducting polymers are affected by numerous factors such as the method of synthesis, the monomer of which the polymer is built, the possible additives and the dopants. Thus, a wide variety of conductive polymers can be engineered to meet the intended function(s). Conductive polymers were introduced recently in pharmacy and medicine mainly as versatile drug delivery tools, in bio-sensing and as molds for regeneration of nervous pathways. In fact, uses of conductive polymers is not limited to pharmaceutical and medical applications but extend to cover several fields that impact our daily life. In microelectronics, conductive polymers are used in the manufacturing of displays of the intelligent electronic devices, such as smart mobile phones, tablets and computers. Organic light emitting devices or OLEDs are prominent application of conductive polymers in electronics industry. A new trend in solar cells based on increasing the energy efficiency and flexibility of such systems by using conductive polymers has been recently emerged. This mini-review briefly surveys the main applications of conductive polymers in medicine and pharmacy, with short description for their history, chemistry and properties.

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