Functional polymers for drug delivery: Prospects and challenges

Amanda K. Pearce*, Andrew J. Blok, Gokhan Yilmaz, Nishant Singh, Robert J. Cavanagh, Thais Abelha, Vincenzo Taresco, Cameron Alexander

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The fields of polymer and pharmaceutical chemistry have become of critical importance for clinical drug delivery, allowing for a significant improvement in the way that drugs are administered. In particular, polymer-based nanomedicines show immense promise for achieving the 'holy grail' of pharmaceutical science: site-specific delivery of active molecules with no off-target effects. This short review highlights some recent notable examples and strategies towards fulfilling this aim, focussing on drug delivery systems constructed through polymerisation techniques such as Ring Opening Polymerisations (ROP) and controlled radical polymerisations. We further consider inherently therapeutic polymers, supramolecular assemblies and nanoparticle formulation techniques, with a final outlook towards the eventual commercialisation of nanoparticle therapeutics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-42
Number of pages5
JournalChimica Oggi/Chemistry Today
Volume36
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Drug delivery
  • Formulation strategies
  • Nanoparticles
  • Polymer therapeutics
  • Polymerisation techniques

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry(all)

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