Dendrimers as a Potential Drug Delivery System: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Dendrimers are synthetic monodisperse macromolecules with a large number of functional groups scattered with 
remarkable precision. They are nanoscale sized and extremely branched, making them a viable scaffold for drug delivery. 
Neuron capture therapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, immunology, vaccines, antivirals, diagnostic 
biosensors, and dendrimers are all excellent vehicles for these treatments. Among the many exciting and quickly 
developing subfields of chemistry, dendrimers chemistry stands out. Nanoparticle drug delivery techniques were highly 
preferred before dendrimer technology emerged because of the selectivity and stability of the therapeutic chemicals they 
contained. Yet, there are a few downsides to these nanostructures that make them unusable, such as drug leakage, 
immunogenicity, hemolytic toxicity, cytotoxicity, hydrophobicity, and reticuloendothelial system (RES) absorption. In 
addition, these drawbacks may be overcome by adjusting the surface engineering, for example using dendrimers that are 
poly ester, arginine, glycol, or PEGylated. They are attractive candidates for use as a carrier for biological and 
medication delivery systems because to their scalability uniformity, water solubility, surface functionalizability, and 
available interior cavities. We honed in on bioactive agents that can be readily encapsulated into dendrimers' interior 
cavities, attached chemically or conjugated, or physically adsorbed onto their surfaces in order to meet the specific 
requirements of the active components, characterize them, and put them to use in this review.