A tribute to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid excellency and the myriad of novel polyesters, as well as polyamides, among other polycondensates, is comprehensively paid.

Polyesters from renewable resources are an expanding area with a burgeoning scientific activity, nevertheless little has been reviewed about this particular class of polymers. The present appraisal intends to contribute to fill this literature gap by reviewing recent aspects related to the most promising renewable-based polyesters. Emphasis will be placed on bio-based polyesters that, given their comparable properties, may replace polymers derived from fossil fuel feedstock, and on bio-based polyesters with completely innovative properties for novel applications. Furthermore, the sources of renewable monomers will also be reviewed, together with the most relevant eco-friendly synthetic approaches used in polycondensation reactions leading to polyesters.

Advanced drug delivery systems (DDS) present indubitable benefits for drug administration. Over the past three decades, new approaches have been suggested for the development of novel carriers for drug delivery. In this review, we describe general concepts and emerging research in this field based on multidisciplinary approaches aimed at creating personalized treatment for a broad range of highly prevalent diseases (e.g., cancer and diabetes). This review is composed of two parts. The first part provides an overview on currently available drug delivery technologies including a brief history on the development of these systems and some of the research strategies applied. The second part provides information about the most advanced drug delivery devices using stimuli-responsive polymers. Their synthesis using controlled-living radical polymerization strategy is described. In a near future it is predictable the appearance of new effective tailor-made DDS, resulting from knowledge of different interdisciplinary sciences, in a perspective of creating personalized medical solutions.

Antimicrobial polymers represent a very promising class of therapeutics with unique characteristics for fighting microbial infections. As the classic antibiotics exhibit an increasingly low capacity to effectively act on microorganisms, new solutions must be developed. The importance of this class of materials emerged from the uncontrolled use of antibiotics, which led to the advent of multidrug-resistant microbes, being nowadays one of the most serious public health problems. This review presents a critical discussion of the latest developments involving the use of different classes of antimicrobial polymers. The synthesis pathways used to afford macromolecules with antimicrobial properties, as well as the relationship between the structure and performance of these materials are discussed.