ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the different starch based Drug Delivery Systems (DDS). Poor solubility can hinder the achievement of a convenient pharmaceutical format as hydrophobic drugs can precipitate in aqueous media, whereas unfavourable pharmacokinetics impliy that the drug is cleared too rapidly from the body, requiring high doses or continuous infusion. Polymers are used for clinical applications due to the fact that their wide architecture offers diversity in chemistry, dimensions and topology. Starch can be extracted from roots, seeds, stems and tubers of different plants, such as com, potato, wheat, rice and others. Modification treatments of starch in the food industry include gelatinization, monoester or cross-linked phosphorylation, and hydroxy- propylation. Starch graft copolymers have also been used as drug delivery systems. Polymer blending is a well-used technique whenever modification of properties is required, because it uses conventional technology at low cost. Starch blends have also been used in the production of DDS.
