ABSTRACT
UNESCO has named 2011 the International Year of Chemistry and so-called
‘molecular materials’ have become a primary focus in research and technology
development, which will make a significant contribution to modern civilization.
Biodegradable polymers can be seen as one of the most sophisticated type of
molecularmaterials, which can gradually ‘disappear’, that is, degrade to harmless
small molecules, after successful performance of their task in various biomedical
and environmental applications. Biodegradable polymers have been playing a
key role in the design of medical devices, especially in drug delivery, tissue
engineering and plastic surgery. Biodegradable polymers have been utilized in
various nanocarriers for the formulation of therapeutic and imaging agents that
include drug-polymer conjugations (prodrugs), hydrogels, micelles, liposomes,
polymeric nanoparticles and dendrimers, all being at the center of nanomedicine
development.
