Drug solubility could affect the therapeutic use of a drug because the biological activity of a drug is only possible if some fraction of a dissolved drug can permeate and overcome biological membranes to reach its site of action. The solubility-permeation interplay is therefore, probably the most important factor in determining a successful therapeutic outcome of any drug because more than 40% of marketed drugs and more than 70% of pipeline drugs show poor water solubility. Several solubilization techniques are used and include, balancing of pH-pK properties, employment of cosolvents, and the solubilization by host-guest carriers. A relatively new addition to the polymer plethora of solubilizers are the poly(amidoamine) dendrimers. These highly branched, "tree-like" nanocarriers have a significant solubilization capacity for drugs in their cavities and also potentially via their terminals. Despite their successful solubilization capability, they are still plagued by some undesired properties such as cytotoxicity. Poly(amidoamine) however, seems to be a very lucrative target to develop into a pharmaceutical excipient, which will ultimately be confirmed by an official pharmacopeial monograph.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.