ROS Scavenging Biopolymers for Anti-Inflammatory Diseases: Classification and Formulation

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), the byproducts of aerobic metabolism, is a class of crucial molecules in physiological processes, nevertheless, would induce a series of inflammatory responses when overexpression. Excessive or inappropriate inflammation contributes to a range of acute and chronic human inflammatory diseases. In recent years, ROS scavenging agents have been widely regarded as a kind of potential therapeutic substances due to their abilities of delaying and/or inhibiting the oxidative stress in physiological microenvironments. ROS scavenging biopolymers are a group of agents that commonly have strong ROS scavenging ability and pharmacokinetic potential compared to similar low molecular weight agents. In this review, the generation and clearance of ROS in physiological processes, as well as the effects of ROS inflammatory diseases are introduced. Furthermore, the classification, macromolecular structure, and scavenging mechanism of those antioxidant polymers are systematically described and discussed, which aim to provide a guiding theoretical reference of designing effectively ROS scavenging biopolymers for anti-inflammatory disease therapy.