Issue 26, 2014

Dendrimers for drug delivery

Abstract

Due to their nanometric size, dendrimers have been considered as potentially suitable as new vehicles for drug delivery since their infancy. The association of a dendrimer and a drug may occur in different ways, either through covalent or non-covalent interactions. A non-covalent interaction can be the simple encapsulation inside dendrimers that enhances the solubility of lipophilic drugs in water, or electrostatic interactions between the surface and charged drugs (or DNA, RNA, or siRNA). The covalent association may occur through stable bonds, in particular for dendrimers that are considered as active per se, or through cleavable bonds that should be cleaved only when reaching the target (often cancerous cells). In addition, the full structure of the dendrimer can be disassembled under the influence of a trigger such as pH variations. This review will present these strategies and their consequences for drug delivery.

Graphical abstract: Dendrimers for drug delivery

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
31 janv. 2014
Accepted
24 avr. 2014
First published
28 avr. 2014

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014,2, 4055-4066

Author version available

Dendrimers for drug delivery

A. Caminade and C. Turrin, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014, 2, 4055 DOI: 10.1039/C4TB00171K

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