ELS Publishing Biofunct. Mat.
Biofunct. Mat. 2023 (1):0003 1
https://doi.org/10.55092/bm20230003
Review
Polymicellar-based drug delivery systems for use in
nanodentistry, oral and cranio-maxillo-facial oncology
Ziyad S. Haidar
1,2,3,4,5,
*
1
BioMAT’X (HAiDAR I+D+i LAB), Santiago, Chile
2
Clínica/Hospital Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile
3
Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile
4
Programa de Doctorado en BioMedicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de los Andes,
Santiago, Chile
5
Centro de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica (CiiB), Universidad de los Andes,
Santiago, Chile
* Corresponding author; E-mail: zhaidar@uandes.cl.
Received 16 December 2022; Accepted 27 February 2023; Published 29 March 2023
Abstract: Polymer-based therapeutics is a precipitously-growing Research, Development
and Innovation (R&D&I) translational field of bioengineering for biomedicine. The last
decade has witnessed an exponential rise in interest from Dentistry, in general and Oral
Oncology (extending to cranio-maxillo-facial), in particular. Basically, the area comprises
the design, development, characterization, evaluation and fine-tuning (refinement) of
polymer-drug and polymer-protein conjugates, macromolecular drug delivery systems, and
polymeric micelles that incorporate covalently-bound drugs, bioactive agents and
polyplexes for controlled pharmaceutic and DNA delivery. Accordingly, tackling drug
delivery-related issues, including mode-of-administration, encapsulation efficiency, loading
capacity, release pharmaco-kinetics, bio-safety and -efficacy became key in nanomedicine
and nanoDentistry of today and tomorrow. Herein, nano-sized drug delivery vehicles and
carriers can represent a cornerstone in the ongoing efforts for controlled drug development,
formulation, optimization and translation from bench-top to chair-side; to the clinic and our
patients. Indeed, the self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers, or aggregation colloids (in
solution), commonly referred to as polymeric micelles, continue to represent an invaluably
desirable and pursued small-scale, easy-to-formulate, -characterize and -sterilize tool in
pharmaceutical innovation, mainly, in overcoming critical issues in drug delivery, including
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