Degradable Polymers and Nanoparticles Built from Salicylic Acid.

As more evidence emerges supporting the possibility that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, especially aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid), might have a role in the prevention and management of certain types of cancer, there have been several attempts to fabricate salicylic acid-based polymers that can be employed in the targeted therapy of tumors. The primary disadvantage so far has been in use of nontherapeutic polymeric backbones that constitute the majority of the therapeutic particle's size. The focus of this research is the creation of a biodegradable polymer consisting only of salicylic acid, and its use as the main building block in targeted nanotherapeutics that would consequently provide both high local dose and sustained release of the active moiety. This work demonstrates the synthesis and degradation of polysalicylates, and modulation of their size and hydrolytic stability through the formation of nanostructures.