The importance of Dendrimers in the Pharmaceutical Uses

VERÓNICA BRUNETTI; MARISA MARTINELLI; MIRIAM STRUMIA; VIJAY K. THAKUR ; MANJU K. THAKUR

Handbook of Polymers for Pharmaceutical Technologies

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2015;

The development of molecular nanostructures with well-defined particle shape and size, such as dendrimers and dendritic structures, are of great importance. New nanomaterials could be prepared using these structures as building blocks. Unique properties of dendritic macromolecules make them much more useful for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications than linear polymers. Therefore, over the last three decades, dendrimers have found a special place in polymer-based pharmaceutical technology. This chapter describes general characteristics of dendrimers, synthetic methodologies and their properties. Though, successful applications of dendrimers and dendritic structures are feasible at small scale, a promising future on pharmaceutical and nanomedicine fields is at glance. Finally, some characteristic examples of dendrimers used in these fields are presented.