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Drug delivery's quest for polymers: Where are the frontiers?
1Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETH Zurich, Campus Hönggerberg, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Summary
Polymers are crucial for controlled drug delivery, especially in regenerative medicine. Overcoming translational hurdles is key for approving new polymer therapeutics and carriers.
Area of Science:
- Polymer science
- Biomaterials
- Drug delivery systems
Background:
- Polymers have evolved significantly since 1964 for drug delivery.
- Recent advancements are driven by tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.
- Polymers function as both inert excipients and biological response modifiers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide observations on the current state of polymer therapeutics and carriers.
- To highlight the progression of synthetic polymer-drug conjugates.
- To discuss challenges and trends in polymer-based drug delivery.
Main Methods:
- Review of synthetic polymer-drug conjugates.
- Discussion of cationic polymers for nucleic acid therapeutics.
- Exploration of multifunctional and stimuli-sensitive polymeric carriers.
- Consideration of natural and biodegradable biopolymers.
Main Results:
- Synthetic polymer-drug conjugates are progressing from research to clinical application.
- Challenges remain in using cationic polymers for nucleic acid delivery.
- Biodegradable polyesters represent a novel development for parenteral use.
Conclusions:
- The translation of polymer therapeutics from research to market approval is the primary challenge.
- Multifunctional, stimuli-sensitive, and natural biopolymers are key trends.
- Continued innovation in polymer design is essential for advancing drug delivery.
Keywords:
Biological response modifiersBiopolymersCationic polymersMultifunctional polymeric carriersPolymer therapeuticsPolymer–drug conjugatesStimuli-sensitive polymersSupramolecular polymersTissue engineeringTranslational medicineMore Related Videos
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