Dendritic polyglycerols for biomedical applications.
The application of nanotechnology in medicine and pharmaceuticals is a rapidly advancing field that is quickly gaining acceptance and recognition as an independent area of research called "nanomedicine". Urgent needs in this field, however, are biocompatible and bioactive materials for antifouling surfaces and nanoparticles for drug delivery. Therefore, extensive attention has been given to the design and development of new macromolecular structures. Among the various polymeric architectures, dendritic ("treelike") polymers have experienced an exponential development due to their highly branched, multifunctional, and well-defined structures. This Review describes the diverse syntheses and biomedical applications of dendritic polyglycerols (PGs). These polymers exhibit good chemical stability and inertness under biological conditions and are highly biocompatible. Oligoglycerols and their fatty acid esters are FDA-approved and are already being used in a variety of consumer applications, e.g., cosmetics and toiletries, food industries, cleaning and softening agents, pharmaceuticals, polymers and polymer additives, printing photographing materials, and electronics. Herein, we present the current status of dendritic PGs as functional dendritic architectures with particular focus on their application in nanomedicine, in drug, dye, and gene delivery, as well as in regenerative medicine in the form of non-fouling surfaces and matrix materials.
Calderón
Marcelo
M
Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Quadir
Mohiuddin Abdul
MA
Sharma
Sunil Kumar
SK
Haag
Rainer
R
D000818:Animals; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D050091:Dendrimers; D011108:Polymers; C043941:polyglycerol; D005990:Glycerol