The Usage of PEG in Drug Delivery Systems- A Mini Review

Abstract

Designing polymeric delivery systems for drugs and genes to implement individual biological functions is an area of continuing interest. Poly (Ethylene Glycol) (PEG) is one of the most successfully adopted materials for designing this kind of drug delivery systems and it exhibits a controllable and sustained release profile. Due to its unique structure, PEG molecules are used to reduce the immunogenicity of drug delivery systems and active substances and to avoid unwanted enzymolysis. PEG based copolymers also play a very important role as biomedical materials due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and easily controllable characters. This mini review summarizes the state-of-the-art use of PEG in therapeutic applications.