The use of polymers in drug realease and delivery.

Running Head : POLYMERS AND DRUG DELIVERY

The Use of Polymers in Drug Release and Delivery

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Literature Review

The use of biodegradable polymers in drug delivery arose from the search for polymers that could be used as degradable sutures . From the synthetic polymers of the 1950s to the current potent and significantly powerful anti cancer agents , narcotic antagonists and steroids to the more advanced protein based and gene based macro and macromolecular biodegradable formulations , the use of polymers in drug release and

br delivery has come from very far and promising results can only be good news to the future treatment and management of a myriad of diseases and conditions

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality today . With increasing diagnosis of cancer cases , multimodal therapy remains the only reliable option in cancer treatment in addition to other treatments following surgical removal of cancerous cells . These therapies either kill the metastatic cells or maintain them in a remission state . Unfortunately many of these cancer drugs have limitations in terms of clinical administration owing to their poor solubility and a host of other unfavorable properties . This explains why research into alternative forms of delivery of these drugs has gained momentum . Paclitaxel is one of the few antieneoplastic drugs which have been used for decades in treating a wide spectrum of cancers but it has problems in solubility (Feng et al 2004 . For this reason it had to be administered with an adjuvant Cremophor EL , which...