Chapter 23 - Plant polysaccharides for orthopedic drug delivery

Abstract

Diverse kinds of natural polysaccharide structures have been utilized considerably as excipients in pharmaceutical industries. They perform a wide range of tasks including matrix-forming or drug release modifying, disintegrating, binding, film-forming, thickening and viscosity enhancing, stabilizing, emulsifying, suspending, and mucoadhesion activities. The advantages of natural polysaccharides as medicinal excipients could be considered to be their biodegradability, nontoxicity, renewability, low cost, plenty, and sustainability. Recently, noticeable interest in the application of plant polysaccharides in drug delivery ahs demonstrated the considerable demand for study, research, and investigation on analyzing, purification, and processing of these structures in order to utilize that achievements as an emerging investment in pharmaceutical industries. It is essential to develop appropriate drug delivery system (DDS) for all drugs to allow their efficient and safe application to the patient. At the present time, the excellent properties of polysaccharides such as structural stability, biocompatibility, green, biodegradability, and flexible chemical composition, make them proper and suitable for their application in the DDS usually called the polysaccharide-based DDS. Furthermore, plant polysaccharides have been noted and used for the controlled drug delivery of anticancer agents like VEGF, FGF-1, FGF-2, transforming growth factor-beta, Insulin-like growth factor-1, and amidated pectin hosting doxycycline (antibiotics). Orthopedics, a medicinal specialty that focuses on the diagnosis, correction, prevention, and therapy of skeletal deformities and disorders of the bones, muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, and other related tissues, for centuries has dramatically reduced suffering human from physical and mental pain. The implants which are installed in patients’ bodies, are very safe and biocompatible providing a low percentage of infection. Infections after orthopedic surgery are an important clinical problem, and one of the major reasons of implant failure. Hence, using the technique of controlled drug delivery of antibiotics would be very beneficial and effective in treating such complications. Today, some polysaccharide-based DDSs have been utilized for the controlled delivery of anticancer agents and the treatment of other serious diseases. Different plant polysaccharide compounds with appropriate characteristics such as biocompatibility and minimal side effects, have impressively made them suitable options for use in DDSs in orthopedic treatments.