5 Polyglycerols

Publication date: 2018
Source:Engineering of Biomaterials for Drug Delivery Systems
Author(s): Homa Gheybi, Shabnam Sattari, Ali Bodaghi, Khadijeh Soleimani, Abbas Dadkhah, Mohsen Adeli
Polyglycerol (PG), a flexible hydrophilic aliphatic polyether polyol, has been explored as a promising candidate for drug delivery purposes driven by its biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and low toxicity. Considering the fact that PG shows advantages over its polyether analog poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), extensive attention has been devoted to the design and development of new PG-based structures for biomedical applications. In this chapter, an overview is provided with respect to synthetic strategies toward linear, hyperbranced, and perfect dendritic polyglycerols, characteristic features that highlight the advantages of PG over PEG, and potential applications of PGs in various smart supramolecular structures such as tailored pH-, thermo-, and light responsive drug delivery systems in which polyglycerols act as a promising PEG substitute. Particular emphasis is also placed on the advances in cancer and gene therapies using PG formulations.



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