Dendrimers: Emerging polymers for drug-delivery systems

Dendrimers are new class of polymeric materials. It is generally described as a macromolecule, which is characterized by its extensively branched 3D structure that provides a high degree of surface functionality and versatility. The unique properties associated with these dendrimers such as uniform size, high degree of branching, water solubility, multivalency,well-defined molecular weight and available internal cavities make them attractive for biological and drug-delivery applications. Commercialization of dendrimers is now forthcoming. The present review briefly describes about dendrimer synthesis strategies, types of dendrimers with different functionalities, properties which having crucial importance and their potential applications. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.