Editors
Valentino Laquintana, Angela Assunta Lopedota
Journal
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Sumbmission deadline
29/11/2019
Polysaccharides embrace a wide class of substances that have attracted considerable attention owing to their desirable physicochemical and biological properties, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, as well as non-antigenicity in the fields of nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. Moreover, they possess unique features that can facilitate mucoadhesion, enhanced targeting, and reduced inflammatory response. Polysaccharides are versatile excipients for controlled drug delivery systems. Polymers based on chitosan, alginate, dextran, hyaluronic acid, their derivates, and, moreover, oligosaccharides as cyclodextrins, have been successfully used as biomaterials for the production of nanosystems, surface coating agents, hydrogels, bioconjugates or complexes, and improvement of the toxicity profile and biopharmaceutical properties of drugs. In addition, some polysaccharides are bioactive (i.e., plasma expander dextran, glycosaminiglycans, vaccines). This Special Issue aims to explore the more recent advances in the design of oligo- and poly-saccharides, drug-polymer conjugates, and micro- and nano-carriers dealing with the topics of for drug delivery