Polymers in Drug Delivery: An Update

Polymers have been an important component in the development of drug delivery systems because of their ability to release active ingredients for a longer period of time without fluctuations in plasma levels. The first polymeric based drug delivery system, a controlled release hydrogel, based on lactic acid was reported back in the 1960s, and today, the progress in technology of polymers has directed utilization of even polymers and recombinant products of those for delivery of gene and drug.

For the past many years, biodegradable polymers have found widespread use in delivery of drugs and genes because of their biocompatible and biodegradable nature. Polymeric delivery systems for drug and gene with biodegradable nature for definite consignment and planned to apply individual biological functions is constantly a sizzling area of interest. A proper balance of physicochemical properties of polymers can be helpful to design several delivery technologies for various uses through different routes. Novel supramolecular structures, block copolymers as well as dendrimers have been exhaustively investigated for delivery of vectors, siRNA and genes as well as other macromolecules.

Scheme and production of innovative amalgamations of polymers will grow the opportunity of novel and target-specific delivery of drug in coming future. In this chapter, we have highlighted essential polymeric systems to deliver drugs and their applications, the physiological barriers to drug delivery and latest developments in polymers to exemplify regions of research evolving the edges of drug delivery.

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Article Information: Author links open overlay panelPriyanka Bhatt, Sonia Trehan, Nazma Inamdar, Vishnukant K. Mourya, Ambikanandan Misra. Applications of Polymers in Drug Delivery (Second Edition). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819659-5.00001-X