Abstract

Poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) based nanoparticles for drug delivery applications: A review

Author(s): Rajesh Kumar Saini, Laxmi P.Bagri, A.K.Bajpai

The nanomaterials exist in nature ever since the earth came into existence. Nature has created these materials in vivid environmental conditions. During the past two decades, extensive research has been carried out on the biomedical applications of nanostructured materials. Nanotechnologybased delivery systems can also protect drugs from degradation or prematured metabolism, and have longer plasma circulation times. If the release mechanism is stimuli-responsive, a therapeutic level of the drug can be sustained over days or even months. biodegradable polymers from which the drug will be released in a sustained manner. The performance of a polymeric material relies greatly upon the properties of the boundaries in many applications because interactions between the material and its environment occur chiefly at its surfaces. For blood contacting implant devices, it is very important that surface show minimal protein adsorption and it can be achieved by increasing the hydrophilicity of the surface because it reduces protein fouling and improve biocompatibility. Poly (2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (PHEMA) is particularly attractive for biomedical engineering applications because of their high water content, non-toxicity and favorable tissue compatibility and its physical properties can be easilymanipulated through formulation chemistry and it has been extensively used in medical applications. This review includes the preparation techniques, characterization and drug delivery applications of PHEMA based nanoparticles.