Synthetic Polymers in Drug and Biotherapeutics Delivery covers recent advances in the design, synthesis and application of engineered polymers in the delivery of drugs and other biotherapeutic agents. The book covers new polymers that are fast replacing obsolete polymers in the field of drug delivery. Each chapter focuses on a specific polymer, detailing its design, synthesis, fabrication techniques and applications in drug and biotherapeutics delivery. This thorough examination provides a review of the latest research in this rapidly-changing field. Hence, it will be of interest to materials scientists, pharmaceutical scientists, biomedical engineers, chemical engineers and clinicians with an interest in materials development. Synthetic polymers provide a unique set of opportunities in drug and bio-therapeutic delivery due to their chemical versatility and tunable physicochemical properties. Such polymers can be formulated into nanoparticles, nanofibers, nanogels, microparticles, beads, hydrogels, and scaffolds to suit specific needs such as drug release rate and biodegradation with low toxicity.

Natural Biopolymers in Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering systematically examines a broad range of natural polymers and their applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. The book thoroughly collates the most relevant and up-to-date research on natural biopolymers, covering a variety of key natural polymer types such as chitin, chitosan, alginate, guar gum and collagen. It is divided into two sections, covering drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Each section focuses on natural biopolymers in the form of scaffolds, membranes, films, gels and nanoparticles, thus helping the reader select not only the most appropriate polymer type, but also the most relevant structure. This comprehensive resource is ideal for materials scientists, biomedical engineers, tissue engineers, pharmaceutical scientists and anyone interested in developing novel materials for biomedical applications.