Drug and Biomaterials R&D, Genzyme Corporation, 153 Second Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451, USA.
Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2009 Nov 12;61(13):1121-30. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2009.05.004. Epub 2009 Aug 12.
Biologically active synthetic polymers have received considerable scientific interest and attention in recent years for their potential as promising novel therapeutic agents to treat human diseases. Although a significant amount of research has been carried out involving polymer-linked drugs as targeted and sustained release drug delivery systems and prodrugs, examples on bioactive polymers that exhibit intrinsic therapeutic properties are relatively less. Several appealing characteristics of synthetic polymers including high molecular weight, molecular architecture, and controlled polydispersity can all be utilized to discover a new generation of therapies. For example, high molecular weight bioactive polymers can be restricted to gastrointestinal tract, where they can selectively recognize, bind, and remove target disease causing substances from the body. The appealing features of GI tract restriction and stability in biological environment render these polymeric drugs to be devoid of systemic toxicity that are generally associated with small molecule systemic drugs. The present article highlights recent developments in the rational design and synthesis of appropriate functional polymers that have resulted in a number of promising polymer based therapies and biomaterials, including some marketed products.
近年来，具有生物活性的合成聚合物因其作为有前途的新型治疗剂治疗人类疾病的潜力而受到相当多的科学关注。尽管已经进行了大量涉及聚合物连接药物的研究，作为靶向和持续释放的药物传递系统和前药，但具有内在治疗特性的生物活性聚合物的例子相对较少。合成聚合物的几个吸引人的特点，包括高分子量、分子结构和可控的多分散性，都可以用来发现新一代的治疗方法。例如，高分子量的生物活性聚合物可以被限制在胃肠道中，在那里它们可以选择性地识别、结合和从体内清除靶疾病引起的物质。胃肠道限制和生物环境稳定性的吸引人的特点使得这些聚合物药物没有通常与小分子全身药物相关的全身毒性。本文重点介绍了合理设计和合成合适功能聚合物的最新进展，这些聚合物已经产生了许多有前途的聚合物基疗法和生物材料，包括一些上市产品。
