Polysaccharide-based micro/nanohydrogels for delivering macromolecular therapeutics

Increased interest in developing novel micro/nanohydrogel based formulations for delivering macromolecular therapeutics has led to multiple choices of biodegradable and biocompatible natural polymers. This interest is largely due to the availability of large number of highly pure recombinant proteins and peptides with tunable properties as well as RNA interference technology that are used in treating some of the deadly diseases that were difficult to be treated by the conventional approaches. The majority of marketed drugs that are now available are in the form of injectables that pose limited patient compliance and convenience. On the other hand, micro/nanotechnology based macromolecular delivery formulations offer many alternative routes of administration and advantages with improved patient compliance and efficient or targeted delivery of intracellular therapeutics to the site of action. This review outlines and critically evaluates the research findings on micro and nano-carrier polymeric hydrogels for the delivery of macromolecular therapeutics.