Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Leiro, Victoria
• Garcia, João Pedro
• Tomás, Helena
• Pêgo, Ana Paula

Titel

The Present and the Future of Degradable Dendrimers and Derivatives in Theranostics

Ist Teil von

• Bioconjugate chemistry, 2015-07, Vol.26 (7), p.1182-1197

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Chemical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2015

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Interest in dendrimer-based nanomedicines has been growing recently, as it is possible to precisely manipulate the molecular weight, chemical composition, and surface functionality of dendrimers, tuning their properties according to the desired biomedical application. However, one important concern about dendrimer-based therapeutics remainsthe nondegradability under physiological conditions of the most commonly used dendrimers. Therefore, biodegradable dendrimers represent an attractive class of nanomaterials, since they present advantages over conventional nondegradable dendrimers regarding the release of the loaded molecules and the prevention of bioaccumulation of synthetic materials and subsequent cytotoxicity. Here, we present an overview of the state-of-the-art of the design of biodegradable dendritic structures, with particular focus on the hurdles regarding the use of these as vectors of drugs and nucleic acids, as well as macromolecular contrast agents.