Pharmaceutical polymeric controlled drug delivery systems

Drug delivery systems have taken a great impetus to deliver a drug to the diseased lesions. Although this concept is not new great progress has recently been made in the treatment of a variety of diseases. A suitable carrier is needed to deliver a suitable and sufficient amount of the drug to a targeted point, hence, various kinds of formulations are being constantly developed. This paper reviews the present state of art regarding the synthetic methods and characterization of nanoparticles, the suitability of polymeric systems for various drugs, drug loading and drug release properties of various systems such as nanoparticles, hydrogels, microspheres, film and membranes, tablets, etc. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available information so that it will be helpful to beginners and serve as a useful tool for active researchers involved in this area.