INEB RECENT PUBLICATIONS: The Present and the Future of Degradable Dendrimers and Derivatives in Theranostics

INEB researchers recently published an article in the Bioconjugate Chemistry, available since March 31th 2015. The article is entitled "The Present and the Future of Degradable Dendrimers and Derivatives in Theranostics" and is authored by Victoria Leiro, João Pedro Garcia, Helena Tomás and Ana Paula Pêgo.

The interest on dendrimer-based nanomedicines is recently growing, as it is possible to precisely manipulate the molecular weight, chemical composition and the surface functionalization of dendrimers tuning their properties according to the desired biomedical application. However, one important question about dendrimer-based therapeutics remains - the non-degradability under physiological conditions of the most commonly used dendrimers. Therefore, biodegradable dendrimers represent an attractive class of nanomaterials since present advantages over the conventional non-degradable dendrimers regarding the release of the loaded molecules and the prevention of bioaccumulation of synthetic materials and subsequent cytotoxicity. In this review we present an overview of the state-of-the-art of the design of biodegradable dendritic structures, with particular focus on the hurdles to the use of these as vectors of drugs and nucleic acids, as well as macromolecular contrast agents.

Link: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/bc5006224