Functional Polymers for Nanomedicine

Book excerpt: Interest in the application of nanotechnology to medicine has surged in recent years and could transform the way we diagnose, treat and prevent diseases such as cancer. However, the clinical success of nanomedicine is limited because of problems with toxicity and therapeutic efficacy. To overcome this it is essential to produce new nanosystems with specific functions, which can be achieved by designing new polymers with particular properties that can be used for nanomedicine. Functional Polymers for Nanomedicine provides a complete overview of the different strategies for designing polymers for nanomedicine applications. The first part of the book looks at the current problems and direction in nanomedicine including a review of current design and targeting of nanocarriers. The second part explores the design of polymers with different functions including hyperbranched polymers, polymersomes, polysaccharides, polymeric micelles and zwitterionic polymers and their applications in gene therapy and drug delivery. This timely book is edited by a leading scientist in nanomedicine and provides a suitable introduction and reference source for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and academic and industrial researchers in polymer science, nanotechnology and pharmacy interested in materials for medical applications.