ABSTRACT
A prodrug is defined as a substance that, though inactive per se, once administered gives rise to the active drug as a consequence of chemical transformation occurring within the body. The aim of this chapter is to give a comprehensive survey of oligomeric prodrugs containing oligomeric, micro-molecular and polymeric promoieties. The main structural peculiarities of the latter are the size, which is larger, and their functionality, which is usually multiple. To this purpose the chapter has been divided into four parts. The first deals with the basic definitions of prodrugs, oligomers and polymers. The second section discusses general concepts, especially in relation with the rationale of the prodrug approach and the relevant properties of oligomeric prodrugs. The third section deals with the synthetic strategies which can be utilized for obtaining oligomeric prodrugs. The fourth section is a critical review of the oligomeric prodrugs described so far with the literature. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of oligomeric prodrugs containing oligomeric promoieties.
