From Pathology to Formulation: Designing Biodegradable Polymers for Personalized Drug Delivery

Background/Objectives: Selection of polymer carriers for targeted drug delivery is typically guided by material availability or trigger responsiveness rather than disease-specific evidence. However, successful preclinical formulations may already encode implicit design rules linking polymer composition to particular pathological environments. This study aimed to identify reproducible material-disease associations across biodegradable polymer systems and to derive formulation-oriented guidance for disease-calibrated carrier selection. Methods: A structured synthesis of 65 preclinical in vivo studies (2020-2025) covering inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, cardiovascular inflammation, and solid tumors was performed. Extracted variables included polymer family, backbone chemistry, stimulus responsiveness, disease model, and reported therapeutic benefit relative to controls. Associations between polymer composition, trigger mechanisms, and disease categories were analyzed using cross-tabulation, chi-square statistics, Cramér's V, and direction-of-effect synthesis. Results: Distinct material-disease clustering patterns emerged. Ionizable polysaccharide and methacrylate systems (e.g., alginate, chitosan, Eudragit) were strongly associated with intestinal inflammatory models, reflecting reliance on pH- and ion-mediated mechanisms. Enzyme-degradable hyaluronic acid matrices were concentrated in joint and cartilage disorders characterized by protease overexpression. Oxidation-sensitive polyether systems (e.g., PEG-PPS) and redox-active hybrid platforms predominated in atherosclerosis and tumor models, where oxidative stress is a defining pathological feature. Composite and multi-responsive systems were disproportionately represented in tumors, consistent with microenvironmental heterogeneity. Across studies, therapeutic improvement was consistently reported when polymer functional motifs aligned with dominant biochemical drivers of the disease. Conclusions: Successful biodegradable polymer carriers exhibit disease-specific compatibility patterns rather than universal applicability. These recurring associations suggest that polymer selection can be guided by pathological context even in the absence of direct outcome comparisons. The resulting formulation-oriented framework supports rational carrier choice for personalized drug delivery based on disease-specific microenvironment signatures.