ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology has been extensively applied in pharmaceutical research to improve the drug delivery and the treatment of many diseases. Nanoparticle (NP) is a general term for colloidal particles smaller than 1000 nm in diameter in which a therapeutic agent can be encapsulated, adsorbed, or chemically coupled. Polymeric NPs represent one of the most investigated nanocarriers due to the great number of materials and methods available. In this sense, we propose an approach about polymeric NPs as delivery systems, including the general concepts, applications and advantages, and the natural and synthetic polymers and preparation methods commonly found throughout the literature to prepare them. Besides the increased efficacy and decreased toxicity in relation to the conventional therapy, it is expected that the development of methods that allow large-scale production as well as the use of low-cost materials can facilitate the reach of NPs to the market.
