Stimuli-Responsive Main-Chain Degradable Polymers: Synthesis, Applications, and Future Perspectives

Most of the existing commercial degradable polymers suffer from sluggish degradation kinetics, toxic degradation products, and difficulties in chemical transformation, which hinder the fabrication of smart degradable polymeric scaffolds. To expedite the degradation kinetics and design next-generation multifunctional polymeric platforms, an enormous amount of research has been conducted over the past few decades to develop sophisticated stimuli-responsive main-chain degradable polymers (MCDPs) for healthcare and industrial applications. These MCDPs can be broadly divided into two major categories: (a) self-immolative polymers (SIPs) and (b) main-chain scission polymers (MCSPs). In this review, we aim to showcase the recent developments (2014–present) of MCDPs where synthetic strategies with stimuli-responsive features and their unique applications in the biomedical and industry-relevant fields are given priority. Through this review, readers will not only benefit by gaining knowledge about the enriching history and developments of MCDPs but also be encouraged to design state-of-the-art MCDPs to mitigate even more complicated challenges of the future.