What are polymers and why are they so useful for drug delivery?
Common plastics — known to scientists as polymers — are all around us. They are used to make garbage bags, milk jugs and coated paper, as well as car bumpers, carpet fibers and soft drink containers. Other types of polymers can be found in paints, coatings and adhesives. Some polymers occur naturally, such as cellulose, starch, and spider silk. Polymers “flow” under heat and pressure, allowing them to be molded into useful products. But polymers can also be used to coat the surface of other objects, or as carriers for designer drug molecules. How can polymers help deliver drugs to the body? When you take any kind of drug, including aspirin, the drug molecules don’t just travel to the site of pain or disease. Instead, the drug is dispersed throughout the body via the bloodstream. In the case of the toxic chemotherapy drugs used in cancer treatments, this means a lot of healthy cells can be killed by the drugs, not just the cancerous ones. Scientists have made great strides in developi
