Cross-Linked Polysaccharides in Drug Delivery Publisher



Yazdi MK¹ ; Khodadadi A² ; Zarrintaj P³ ; Ganjali MR^{1, 4} ; Salehnia F¹ ; Rezapour M⁵ ; Habibzadeh S⁶ ; Saeb MR⁷
Source: Tailor-Made Polysaccharides in Drug Delivery Published:2022

Abstract

Polysaccharides are a particular class of natural polymers, which can be found in living systems, mainly in plants and animals. They have been recognized to have diverse chemical structures with various functional groups. They have also been considered as unavoidable building blocks of the systems with multifunctional character for bioapplications, particularly drug delivery systems (DDSs), principally because of being rich in functional groups that could enhance interaction between drug and tissue. Despite the fact that polysaccharides are to an acceptable level biodegradable and biocompatible, they suffer from poor mechanical properties. As solutions to tackle such drawbacks, blending and chemical modification of polysaccharides were considered to widen the application realm of polysaccharides and, therefore, to design and manufacture polysaccharide-based delivery systems in the form of hydrogels, nanogels, capsules, and nanofibers. In addition, the usage of cross-linked polysaccharides, as well as cross-linking of polysaccharides, has been considered as a promising way to enhance their mechanical properties, besides making it possible to have platforms with high flexibility and strength to adjust and optimize their drug loading and release behavior. Typically, cross-linked polysaccharides have physicochemical properties different from the virgin polysaccharides, which endows them with stimuli-responsive features (e.g., sensitivity to pH, temperature, etc.) which are required in developing smart DDSs. However, tailor-making cross-linked polysaccharides is cumbersome, which necessitates the careful selection of polysaccharide and cross-linking agent, as well as optimizing the process circumstances. In this chapter, the importance of cross-linking on the drug loading and release behavior of polysaccharides has been discussed. Furthermore, various physical and chemical cross-linking methods used in polysaccharides cross-linking have been comprehensively overviewed. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.