New Advances in General Biomedical Applications of PAMAM Dendrimers
Renan Vinicius de Araújo,
Soraya da Silva Santos,
Elizabeth Igne Ferreira,
Jeanine Giarolla
Affiliations
Renan Vinicius de Araújo
Laboratory of Design and Synthesis of Chemotherapeutics Potentially Active in Neglected Diseases (LAPEN), Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo—USP, 580–Building 13, São Paulo SP 05508-900, Brazil
Soraya da Silva Santos
Laboratory of Design and Synthesis of Chemotherapeutics Potentially Active in Neglected Diseases (LAPEN), Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo—USP, 580–Building 13, São Paulo SP 05508-900, Brazil
Elizabeth Igne Ferreira
Laboratory of Design and Synthesis of Chemotherapeutics Potentially Active in Neglected Diseases (LAPEN), Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo—USP, 580–Building 13, São Paulo SP 05508-900, Brazil
Jeanine Giarolla
Laboratory of Design and Synthesis of Chemotherapeutics Potentially Active in Neglected Diseases (LAPEN), Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo—USP, 580–Building 13, São Paulo SP 05508-900, Brazil
Dendrimers are nanoscopic compounds, which are monodispersed, and they are generally considered as homogeneous. PAMAM (polyamidoamine) was introduced in 1985, by Donald A. Tomalia, as a new class of polymers, named ‘starburst polymers’. This important contribution of Professor Tomalia opened a new research field involving nanotechnological approaches. From then on, many groups have been using PAMAM for diverse applications in many areas, including biomedical applications. The possibility of either linking drugs and bioactive compounds, or entrapping them into the dendrimer frame can improve many relevant biological properties, such as bioavailability, solubility, and selectivity. Directing groups to reach selective delivery in a specific organ is one of the advanced applications of PAMAM. In this review, structural and safety aspects of PAMAM and its derivatives are discussed, and some relevant applications are briefly presented. Emphasis has been given to gene delivery and targeting drugs, as advanced delivery systems using PAMAM and an incentive for its use on neglected diseases are briefly mentioned.
