Synthetic polymers Therapeutic agents

Polymer nanoparticles including nanospheres and nanocapsules (Fig. 1) can be prepared according to numerous methods that have been developed over the last 30 years. The development of these methods occurred in several steps. Historically, the first nanoparticles proposed as carriers for therapeutic applications were made of gelatin and cross-linked albumin. Then, to avoid the use of proteins that may stimulate the immune system and to limit the toxicity of the cross-linking agents, nanoparticles made from synthetic polymers were developed. At first, the nanoparticles were made by emulsion polymerization of acrylamide and by dispersion polymerization of methylmethacry-late.f These nanoparticles were proposed as adjuvants for vaccines. However, since they were made of non-biodegradable polymers, these nanoparticles were rapidly substituted by particles made of biodegradable... 

Direct Use of Synthetic Polymers as Drugs and Therapeutic Agents... 

Synthetic polymers are of increasing interest as therapeutic agents and drugs as well, owing to their enhanced pharmacokinetic profiles relative to small molecule drugs. 

In spite of recent developments and research in synthetic polymers applied in pharmaceutical field, biomaterials, particularly polysaccharides like starch, cellulose, gums and mucilages, have a greater role to play in pharmaceutical formulation development. It is concluded from the discussion in this entry that because of some limitations at the molecular level, there is a need to modify the parent structure of starch to make it available for pharmaceutical and other industrial uses. Physically and chemically modified starches showed very promising results in the delivery of therapeutic agents. The modified starches have enormous potential to be used in drug delivery because of its easy modification and biodegradability. 

Table 2. Some soluble synthetic polymers which have been used as carriers of therapeutic agents...

---