A Review on Exploring the Opportunities of Polymer Drug Conjugated Systems for Targeted Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Polymeric drug conjugates (PDCs) for cancer therapy have been a hot topic of research for the past three decades. Successful examples of PDC conjugates have demonstrated sustained drug release action with decreased systemic toxicity and enhanced tumor retention effect (EPR) via active as well as a passive targeting mechanisms. Therefore, the PDC approach has now become a keystone of the drug delivery system for cancer and other diseases. In recent years, several PDCs have successfully made up to the clinical trials. The approach aids targeted delivery of the anticancer drugs to the tumor site without disturbing the healthy cells. The selection of the over-expressed receptor and the receptor-ligand plays a vital role in designing the receptor-targeting PDC so that it is able to distinguish between the healthy cell and the tumor cell. Continuous efforts are being made in research and development towards active targeted PDC delivery system to revolutionize the treatment of cancer despite the controversy built due to hetereogeneity in tumor models. This review highlights the chemistry aspects involved in the preparation of PDCs that deal with novel molecular tumor targets and strategies used for development of targeted PDCs for delivering the drug payload via active or passive targeting. Further, it throws light on the challenges faced by targeted PDCs as novel drug delivery systems.

Electrosprayed Eudragit RL100 nanoparticles with Janus polyvinylpyrrolidone patches for multiphase release of paracetamol

“…In pharmaceutics, dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs is one of the most difficult and important challenges. [57][58][59][60][61] During the past several decades, many material conversion techniques have been introduced to prepare amorphous dosage forms of these drugs, and electrospinning has been broadly demonstrated to be one of the most useful methods. In this study, the crystalline state of the raw PAR particles could be verified via the presence of several sharp Bragg peaks in their XRD patterns (Fig.…”

“…The dissolution of poorly watersoluble drugs has been a challenge in pharmaceutics for several decades. [57][58][59][60][61] Dissolution enhancements and biphasic controlled release would be useful to enhance their therapeutic effects while reducing the risk of excessive dosage to achieve the goal of "effective, safe and convenient" drug delivery. 41,[62][63][64][65][66]…”

Polymeric Theragnostic Nanoplatforms for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…At present, the fabrication of polymer-drug conjugates (PDCs) and nanomedicines (otherwise called polymeric prodrugs or polymer nanotherapeutics) have gained great value over the past decade [39]. Polymer-drug conjugates (PDCs) are macromolecules comprising a covalent bond-allied drug-polymer-targeting moiety backbone with three major components: a hydrophilic solubilizer, a drug-linked-polymer, and a targeting moiety directing the polymer-drug conjugate to a desired functional destination [39,40]. A polymer conjugated with a drug can enhance its pharmacokinetics, increase its stability and loading capacity, and regulate sustained and premature drug release patterns.…”

A Holographic-Type Model in the Description of Polymer–Drug Delivery Processes

“…There are a great variety of beneficial aspects to employing these polymers, resulting not only from their biological characteristics like significant compatibility and degradation but also from the chemical structures that potentiate their mechanical flexibility [ 26 , 27 ]. In controlled DDS formulations, synthetic polymers have greater importance than biopolymers because they have a significant potential for the design and modification of their physicochemical structure [ 28 ].…”