title: Biodegradable polymers and their potential use in parenteral veterinary drug delivery systems.
abstract: Biodegradable polymers have been extensively studied for numerous drug delivery systems for human health purposes. The ever-increasing value of animals to human society allows the application of pharmaceutical developments in the veterinary field from those developed in human medicine. Although many similarities between the human and animal health industries exist there are also notable differences. This paper provides an insight into the animal health market with regard to the challenges and special considerations associated with veterinary drug delivery. It also gives an overview of biodegradable polymers that are used or have been tested in the veterinary field. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some recent developments in this area and to investigate the directions in which veterinary pharmaceutics is heading. In particular, examples of existing biodegradable veterinary drug delivery systems are presented together with applications including intravaginal devices, injectables and implantable systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmacy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Ketzerbach 63, Marburg, Lahn, Germany.
authors.forename: Gesine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Winzenburg
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kissel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001682:Biological Availability; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000662:veterinary*; D007267:Injections; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D019155:Veterinary Drugs / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers; D019155:Veterinary Drugs