Approaches for the preparation of non-linear amphiphilic polymers and their applications to drug delivery

Amphiphilic polymers are particularly useful for drug delivery because of their ability to self-assemble into discrete aggregates. While this behavior has been studied in depth for simple linear block copolymer amphiphiles, recent advances in synthetic methodologies have provided efficient routes to amphiphilic polymers with more complex architecture, including dendrimers, hyperbranched polymers, star polymers, and cyclic polymers. These architectures can impart unique advantages, such as increased stability, on their micellar aggregates. Herein the different strategies for preparing these complex amphiphiles are described, and the application of ;their assemblies towards drug delivery are summarized. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.