Bionanopolymers for Drug Delivery

Drug delivery in the field of medicine is a system that was developed mainly for the purpose of releasing, localizing, and targeting drugs at a particular site in the body, at the right time, period, and dose. The use of natural biopolymers in drug delivery systems dates back to as far as 1970. This is due to the uniqueness of their properties, especially their ability to undergo biodegradation. The use of these biopolymers have contributed largely to the advancement of this technology by adding its own properties to the drugs. Biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides are few examples of natural biopolymers employed for this application. They are produced by microorganisms and the fact that the microorganisms can be genetically manipulated gives room for the production of a wide range of biopolymers. Their existence ranges from viscous solutions to even plastics. Also, their physical properties depend on the composition of the biopolymer as well as its molecular weight. The ability to produce natural biopolymers with personalized properties via biotechnological techniques opens them up to several medical applications such as drug delivery. The properties, structure, synthesis, and most importantly the application of some natural biopolymers in drug delivery will be discussed in this chapter.