Proceedings of the International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics - Recent Progress in Clinics and Future Prospects, held July 13-14, 2001, in Nara, Japan.

The technology of polymer science has developed considerably during the past half-century, and this volume describes some of the aspects of this technology that will have a great impact in the future. Among these advances, for example, are gene delivery to specific disease sites and carrier polymers that respond to a stimulus or particular environment. Cancer targeted drug delivery is another focused area of this volume because of the important nature of EPR-effect of polymer drugs in tumor. Included are discussions of as many examples as possible of polymer drugs that have achieved, or are close to clinical use. The concept of "Polymer drugs" here is limited to primarily injectable and water-soluble agents, although also covered are some drugs in micellar form or liposomes.

This book is intended for students and researchers in the field of pharmacology who have particular interests in drug delivery, targeting, and formulation, as well as for clinicians such as oncologists who are interested in the field. People who work at regulatory agencies should also be aware such that drugs with great potential are being developed and will be beneficial to many patients, as well as to health insurance agencies because of improved cost effectiveness.

Hydrogels are networks of polymer chains which can produce a colloidal gel containing over 99 per cent water. The superabsorbency and permeability of naturally occurring and synthetic hydrogels give this class of materials an amazing array of uses. These uses range from wound dressings and skin grafts to oxygen-permeable contact lenses to biodegradable delivery systems for drugs or pesticides and scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Biomedical Applications of Hydrogels Handbook provides a comprehensive description of this diverse class of materials, covering both synthesis and properties and a broad range of research and commercial applications. The Handbook is divided into four sections: Stimuli-Sensitive Hydrogels, Hydrogels for Drug Delivery, Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering, and Hydrogels with Unique Properties.

Key Features:

• Provides comprehensive coverage of the basic science and applications of a diverse class of materials
• Includes both naturally occurring and synthetic hydrogels
• Edited and written by world leaders in the field.

Hydrogels are networks of polymer chains which can produce a colloidal gel containing over 99 per cent water. The superabsorbency and permeability of naturally occurring and synthetic hydrogels give this class of materials an amazing array of uses. These uses range from wound dressings and skin grafts to oxygen-permeable contact lenses to biodegradable delivery systems for drugs or pesticides and scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Biomedical Applications of Hydrogels Handbook provides a comprehensive description of this diverse class of materials, covering both synthesis and properties and a broad range of research and commercial applications. The Handbook is divided into four sections: Stimuli-Sensitive Hydrogels, Hydrogels for Drug Delivery, Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering, and Hydrogels with Unique Properties. Key Features: Provides comprehensive coverage of the basic science and applications of a diverse class of materials Includes both naturally occurring and synthetic hydrogels Edited and written by world leaders in the field.

First of all, I would like to share the great pleasure of the successful five-day symposium with every participant in the 5th Iketani Conference which was held in Kagoshima from April1S (Tuesday) to 22 (Saturday), 1995. Outstanding speakers enthusiastically presented their up-to-the-minute results. Relatively little time was allotted for each presentation to ensure asdnuch time. as possible for intensive discussions on the particular topics that had just been p esented: I was delighted to see that the lectures were of high quality, and the discu, ssionswere lively, exciting, and productive in a congenial atmosphere. We also had 92 papers in the poster .session, in which young (and relatively young) scientists made every effort to present the novel results of their research in advanced biomaterials and drug delivery systems (DDS). I believe some of the research is most promising and will become noteworthy in the twenty-first century. It was a privilege for me to deliver a lecture at the special session of the symposium. In my introductory remarks, I pointed out five key terms in multifaceted biomaterials research: materials design, concept or methodology, devices, properties demanded, and fundamentals. I am confident that innovative progress in device manufacturing for end-use, e.g., artificial organs, vascular grafts, and DDS, can be brought about only through properly designed advanced materials that exhibit the desired functionality at the interface with any living body."

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics - Recent Progress in Clinics and Future Prospects, held July 13-14, 2001, in Nara, Japan. The technology of polymer science has developed considerably during the past half-century, and this volume describes some of the aspects of this technology that will have a great impact in the future. Among these advances, for example, are gene delivery to specific disease sites and carrier polymers that respond to a stimulus or particular environment. Cancer targeted drug delivery is another focused area of this volume because of the important nature of EPR-effect of polymer drugs in tumor. Included are discussions of as many examples as possible of polymer drugs that have achieved, or are close to clinical use. The concept of "Polymer drugs" here is limited to primarily injectable and water-soluble agents, although also covered are some drugs in micellar form or liposomes. This book is intended for students and researchers in the field of pharmacology who have particular interests in drug delivery, targeting, and formulation, as well as for clinicians such as oncologists who are interested in the field. People who work at regulatory agencies should also be aware such that drugs with great potential are being developed and will be beneficial to many patients, as well as to health insurance agencies because of improved cost effectiveness.