ABSTRACT
Numerous dendrimers have been synthesized and investigated for nanomedicine. Dendrimers have shown potential in various biomedical applications, including drug delivery, gene delivery, magnetic resonance imaging, and anti-cancer therapeutics. This chapter focuses on the history and the trends of dendrimer application for drug and gene delivery systems. Dendrimers are actively under investigation as non-viral gene transfection agents. Cationic dendrimer-mediated methods of gene transfer are very useful tools for cellular transfection. Cationic dendrimers have been shown to complex with plasmid DNA. Polypropylenimine dendrimers are also important commercially available form of cationic dendrimer. Dendrimers in biological systems have significant advantages such as multivalency for tight binding and more efficient interaction, biocompatibility, immunogenicity, biopermeability. Several classes of dendrimer have ionizable groups, within their cores and on their surfaces, which may be available for modification. Besides the incorporation of drugs into the dendrimers, the dendrimer itself can be used as a drug.
