Dendrimers pharmaceutical applications

Prospects of using star polymers and dendrimers in drug delivery and other pharmaceutical application. [N. A. Peppas, T. Nagai, M. Miyajima, Pharm. Techn. Jpn. 1994, 10(6), 611-617] [ 1862]. 

Dendrimers are a unique class of hyperbranched polymers with well-defined size, shape, and chemical functionality and with properties not found in classical linear and cross-linked polymers. There have been significant developments in the last decade in many areas of dendrimer research, partly due to the commercial availability of dendrimers such as PAMAM, but also the result of the synthesis of several novel dendritic structures. Numerous pharmaceutical applications have been proposed for these hyperbranched polymers, and given the rate of current developments, it is envisaged that dendrimer-based formulations will appear in the next decade. 

A plethora of different nanosized particles have been adopted for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, including inorganic and organic nanoparticles (NPs). The most commonly adopted inorganic NPs include magnetic particles (mainly for imaging), silica particles, metal oxides, carbides, borates, sulfides, hydroxides, and salts (eg, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate). Organic NPs include oil-in-water (0/W) emulsions, double emulsions [water-in-oil-in-water (W/OAV)], and polymer-based NPs. Different polymer-based nanosystems are adopted and include polymer micelles, dendrimers, polymerosomes, and polymeric NPs. 

Monomers of die type Aa B. are used in step-growth polymerization to produce a variety of polymer architectures, including stars, dendrimers, and hyperbranched polymers.26 28 The unique architecture imparts properties distinctly different from linear polymers of similar compositions. These materials are finding applications in areas such as resin modification, micelles and encapsulation, liquid crystals, pharmaceuticals, catalysis, electroluminescent devices, and analytical chemistry. 

Bieniarz, C. Dendrimers Applications to Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 18, Marcel Dekker, p. 55, (1998). 

Bieniarz, C. Dendrimers applications to pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry, in Swarbrick, J. and Boylan, J. C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, v. 18, Marcel Dekker Inc, New York, 1999, pp. 55-89. 

Yang H, Kao WJ. Dendrimers for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 2006 17 3-19. 

Dendrimers and star polymers for pharmaceutical and medical application [N. A. Peppas, A. B. Argade, in Proceedings of the International Symposium on Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials [T. J. Roseman, N. A. Peppas, H. L. Gabelnick, Controlled Release Society, Deerfield, FI., USA, 1993],... 

Halford, Bethany. Dendrimers Branch Out. Chemical Engineering News 83 (June 13, 2005) 30-36. This is a brief discussion of the applications, including pharmaceutical, of dendrimer molecules. 

Dendrimers have attracted considerable attention in the polymer field over the past two decades as they have been recognized as the most important macromolecules possessing tunable internal packing density, void volumes, solvent-dependent size, branching dimensions, and surface functionalities. Since the first report of a dendrimer-like molecule in 1978 [33], significant progress has been made in the dendrimer chemistry. A large number of dendrimer compositions (families) and dendrimer surface modifications have been reported. A plethora of applications related to controlled release of pharmaceuticals have been reported. Currently, there are two widely studied dendrimer families, namely the Tomalia-type polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers and the Frdchet-type polyether dendrimers. PAMAM dendrimers are the first complete dendrimer family to have been synthesized. 

Abstract Applications of five-membered ring products in cyclometalation reactions for other purposes include organic electronic devices, pharmaceuticals, dye-sensitized solar cells, carbon dioxide utilizations, sensors, dendrimers, liquid crystals, resolving agents, and photosensitizers for hydrogen production. 

In the field of bioresorbable polymers, dendrimers are usually not included. In contrast, polymerosomes, polymeric micelles, and polymeric NPs find a large number of applications as bioresorbable systems, mainly in dmg delivery. It is an extremely vast field of research that covers the development and use of innovative systems for the administration of pharmaceutically active ingredients. In this case there are numerous administration routes for dehvering the active ingredients loaded in these systems, such as oral, transmucosal, pulmonary, and intravenous. The preferable route is oral (noninvasive dehvery), although very often it is not feasible, as with anticancer compounds for which the intravenous route (invasive delivery) is preferred (Fig. 12.1) [1]. 

Gadomer is a new promising agent for MRI. Due to its intravascular retention widiin the first minutes after i.v. administration, a variety of clinical applications are anticipated, most interestingly its use in cardiac imaging. The con und is safe, very well tolerated and completely excreted from the body. It is the first gadolinium containing dendrimer in pharmaceutical development. 

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