Biological effects of soluble synthetic polymers as drug carriers.

Soluble synthetic polymers have already, with limited success, found some use medically as plasma expanders and as polymeric drugs. Currently, many other potential biomedical applications are under evaluation, including the use of soluble polymers as targetable drug carriers, as carriers of immunogenic compounds, and as bioadhesives. In order to exploit their undoubted clinical potential to the fullest, it is obviously essential to understand the inter-relationship between synthetic polymers and their biological environment. The biological effects of soluble synthetic polymers to be covered include their immunogenicity, the therapeutic potential of polymeric drugs, and polymer-drug conjugates and their biocompatibility. These active responses are discussed in relation to the differential fates of different soluble polymers in the body.