Biodegradable dendrimers for drug delivery

Da Huang; Decheng Wu

doi:10.1016/j.msec.2018.03.002

Biodegradable dendrimers for drug delivery

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2018 Sep 1:90:713-727. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2018.03.002. Epub 2018 Mar 10.

Authors

Da Huang¹, Decheng Wu²

Affiliations

¹ College of Biological Science and Technology, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China.; Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics & Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
² Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics & Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.. Electronic address: dcwu@iccas.ac.cn.

PMID: 29853143
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2018.03.002

Abstract

Dendrimers, as a type of artificial polymers with unique structural features, have been extensively explored for their applications in biomedical fields, especially in drug delivery. However, one important concern about the most commonly used dendrimers exists - the nondegradability, which may cause side effects induced by the accumulation of synthetic polymers in cells or tissues. Therefore, biodegradable dendrimers incorporating biodegradability with merits of dendrimers such as well-defined architectures, copious internal cavities and surface functionalities, are much more promising for developing novel nontoxic drug carriers. Herein, we review the recent advances in design and synthesis of biodegradable dendrimers, as well as their applications in fabricating drug delivery systems, with the aim to provide researchers in the related fields a good understanding of biodegradable dendrimers for drug delivery.

Keywords: Biodegradable; Dendrimers; Drug delivery.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Dendrimers / chemistry*
Drug Carriers / chemistry*
Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
Humans
Polymers / chemistry

Substances

Dendrimers
Drug Carriers
Polymers