Abstract

DENDRIMERS AS NOVEL FORMULTION IN NANOTECHNOLOGY BASED TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY

Amtun Noor, Wazha Mahmood*, Arshiya Afreen, and Syeda Uzma

ABSTRACT

The most challenging task in research field of pharmaceutical science is to develop targeted drug delivery system. Dendrimers are highly branched, three dimensional macromolecules with highly controlled structure and a novel class of polymeric material which has attracted considerable attention because of their unique globular shape and properties. [ ¹ ] Targeted drug delivery aims to greatly reduce toxic side effects of the drugs by combining molecules that specifically interact with receptors expressed on cancer cells with their cytotoxic drugs, enabling them to act only on tumour cells. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of characteristic of materials such as polymers that are able to provide superior drug delivery system for better management and treatment of disease. [ ² ] The unique structural feature of dendritic and hyper branched macromolecules is low polydispersity and nanometer size range which can allow carrier passage across biologicalbarrier. Thus dendrimers provide a route to create well defined nano structures that are suitable to act as a carrier for development of novel drug delivery system. This review of literature on dendrimers as a novel formulation describes how the dendrimers can be formulared as a carrier and the potential of the macromolecules, drug nano carriers in Occular, transdermal, respiratory and intra venous administration. Dendrimers promises good future prospects for the biomedicine. [ ³

Keywords: Dendrimers, nanotechnology, targeted drug delivery, pharmaceutical applications.