Smart medicines and medical devices: Opportunity or chimera?

Abstract

Medicines and medical devices capable of controlling the release of drugs and active substances in response to stimuli can significantly improve the therapeutic efficacy of treatments already implemented and open up new possibilities for advancing in the field of personalized medicine. Stimulus-responsive systems enable precise delivery of active substances at the right place and time and at the most convenient rate using lower doses than are required using conventional strategies. Advances in this field are directly linked to the evolution of materials science that makes it possible to have biomaterials and excipients that are not only bioactive but also modulators of the biological response. Activation-modulated and feedback-regulated controlled-release systems, based on bioinspired approaches, have already demonstrated their potential in the preclinical phases. The successful clinical use of some of them is an encouragement to continue advancing in this field.