MICROGELS: Old Materials with New Applications

This review describes the most recent progress in the use of polymer multiresponsive microgels as central components of advanced, functional colloidal materials. Significant areas of development include the use of microgels as microreactors for templated synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles with predetermined properties, as optically active materials including lenses and photonic crystals, and as primary units in site-specific and controlled drug delivery systems. In the last category, both synthetic and biopolymeric microgels are discussed.