Poly(amido amine) dendrimers in oral delivery

ABSTRACT

Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers have been extensively investigated for oral delivery applications due to their ability to translocate across the gastrointestinal epithelium. In this Review, we highlight recent advances in the evaluation of PAMAM dendrimers as oral drug delivery carriers. Specifically, toxicity, mechanisms of transepithelial transport, models of the intestinal epithelial barrier including isolated human intestinal tissue model, detection of dendrimers, and surface modification are discussed. We also highlight evaluation of various PAMAM dendrimer-drug conjugates for their ability to transport across gastrointestinal epithelium for improved oral bioavailability. In addition, current challenges and future trends for clinical translation of PAMAM dendrimers as carriers for oral delivery are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• bioavailability
• Caco-2 monolayer
• complexation
• conjugation
• cytotoxicity
• PAMAM dendrimers
• permeability
• translocation
• ussing chamber

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Funding

Support was provided in part from a National Institutes of Health grant R01ES024681.