Polyrotaxanes: Synthesis, structure, and potential in drug delivery

This article reviews the potential of polyrotaxanes in drug delivery with t he historical background of polyrotaxane syntheses. Pseudopolyrotaxanes and polyrotaxanes, including classifications, synthetic methods, structures an d physical properties are discussed in the first section. The second sectio n provides our concept of drug carriers using drug-polyrotaxane conjugates in comparison with conventional drug-polymer conjugates. The third and four th sections describe the synthetic method for biodegradable polyrotaxanes, the conjugation with drugs, and their association under physiological condi tions. The fifth section discusses other possibilities for the polyrotaxane s such as drug penetration enhancers. These studies suggest the potential o f polyrotaxanes in pharmaceutical applications.