Biomedical applications of synthetic, biodegradable polymers for the development of anti-infective strategies

• Published in: Current medicinal chemistry Vol. 21; no. 29; p. 3383
• Main Authors: Bertesteanu, Serban, Chifiriuc, Mariana Carmen, Grumezescu, Alexandru Mihai, Printza, Atnanasia G, Marie-Paule, Thill, Grumezescu, Valentina, Mihaela, Vlad, Lazar, Veronica, Grigore, Raluca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01-01-2014
• Subjects: Anti-Infective Agents - chemical synthesis; Anti-Infective Agents - chemistry; Anti-Infective Agents - metabolism; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Bacteria - drug effects; Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - metabolism; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Biomedical Research; Fungi - drug effects; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Nanomedicine; Polymers - chemical synthesis; Polymers - chemistry; Polymers - metabolism; Polymers - pharmacology; Viruses - drug effects
• ISSN: 1875-533X
• DOI: 10.2174/0929867321666140304104328

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in microbial strains is representing one of the major threats to public health worldwide, due to the decreased or total cancelling of the available antibiotics effectiveness, correlated with the slow development of novel antibiotics. Due to their excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility, the synthetic polymers could find a lot of biomedical applications, such as the development of biomaterials with optimized properties and of drug delivery systems. This review is focusing on the applications of synthetic, biodegradable polymers for the improvement of antiinfective therapeutic and prophylactic agents (i.e., antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents and vaccines) activity, as well as for the design of biomaterials with increased biocompatibility and resistance to microbial colonization.