ABSTRACT
Nanoparticle (NP) formulation of anticancer drugs aroused intensive research in
the past decades and has become an important area in cancer nanotechnology
[1]. NPs of biodegradable polymers can provide a way of sustained, controlled
and targeted drug delivery to improve the therapeutic effects and reduce the
side effects of the formulated drugs [2]. Poly(lactide) (PLA), poly(D,L-lactide-co-
glycolide) (PLGA), and poly(caprolactone) (PCL) are FDA-approved biodegrad-
able polymers, which are used most often in the literature of drug delivery [3-
5]. These polymers were originally synthesized to make surgical sutures and
thus have disadvantages to be used for drug formulation, including too high
hydrophobicity (thus not friendly to hydrophilic drugs) and too slow degradation
(thus too slow drug release). Novel biodegradable polymers/copolymers with
desired hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance and desired degradation rate are thus
needed.
