Thiolated biopolymers in drug delivery and biomedical applications

COLMENAREZ, CUSTODIANA; FASCIO MIRTA; D'ACCORSO NORMA B.

Tailor-made Biopolymers in Drug Delivery

Elsevier

Año: 2021; p. 35 - 52

In medicine, the use of biopolymers is of great interest because there is part of renewable biomass that is easily accessible, low cost and highly functional in many cases. In this context, collagen, albumin, alginate, gelatin, cyclodextrins, chitosan, dextran, starch, agarose, cellulose, hyaluronic acid, are attractive for several biomedical uses. The incorporation of thiol groups to these biopolymers leads to the so-called thiomers, which have the possibility of interacting with the glycoproteins on the mucosal surface, through mucohadesion process. These mucoadhesive properties make them ideal substrates for drug delivery and releases. In this review, recent advances in the synthesis and applications of thiolated biopolymers such as chitosan, starch, gelatin, β-cyclodextrin, hyaluronic acid, whey protein, pullulan and alginate are reported. It was selected latest results in drug delivery, drug administration development, medicinal applications, diagnosis, regenerative medicine, drug bioavailability and other applications, reporting the chemical and physical preparation, their interaction and the response in different tests.