Polysaccharide-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems exploit naturally occurring carbohydrate polymers such as chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid and dextran to transport therapeutic agents in a controlled and site-specific manner. Their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability and capacity for chemical modification enable the design of diverse nanocarriers—ranging from nanoparticles and micelles to hydrogels and surface coatings. By varying chain length, crosslinking density and grafted functionalities, researchers have engineered vehicles that respond to pH, redox potential or enzymatic triggers, thereby achieving sustained or stimuli-responsive release. Surface decoration with targeting ligands further refines biodistribution, enhancing accumulation in tumours, inflamed tissues or across biological barriers. These platforms address fundamental challenges in drug solubility, stability and off-target toxicity, with applications spanning anticancer chemotherapy, antimicrobial therapy, gene delivery and regenerative medicine. Ongoing efforts focus on scalable fabrication, reproducibility and translation to clinical practice, underscoring the global significance of polysaccharide-derived nanomedicines for precision therapeutics.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated the power of self-assembly in designing stimuli-responsive hydrogel nanoparticles. In one seminal report, dextran grafted with polyacrylic acid through disulfide linkages formed nanohydrogels capable of dual pH- and redox-triggered release of doxorubicin. The material exhibited efficient tumour inhibition in vivo while minimising systemic toxicity. This approach illustrates how covalent crosslinking and bioresponsive junctions in polysaccharide backbones can be combined to fine-tune release kinetics and therapeutic index.

Polysaccharide-Based Drug Delivery Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biocompatibility: The capacity of a material to perform with an appropriate host response in a specific application.

Nanocarrier: A nanoscale vehicle designed to transport and deliver therapeutic agents to target sites.

Polyelectrolyte complex: A network formed by electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged polymers, used to encapsulate drugs.

Hydrogel: A three-dimensional, water-swollen polymer network capable of controlled drug release.

Micelle: A self-assembled aggregate of amphiphilic molecules, forming a hydrophobic core for drug encapsulation.

Stimuli-responsive release: Drug liberation triggered by environmental changes such as pH, redox potential or enzyme activity.

References

1. Polysaccharide‐Based Controlled Release Systems for Therapeutics Delivery and Tissue Engineering: From Bench to Bedside. Advanced Science (2018).
2. Self-Assembly Assisted Fabrication of Dextran-Based Nanohydrogels with Reduction-Cleavable Junctions for Applications as Efficient Drug Delivery Systems. Scientific Reports (2017).
3. One-Pot Synthesis of Amphiphilic Biopolymers from Oxidized Alginate and Self-Assembly as a Carrier for Sustained Release of Hydrophobic Drugs. Polymers (2022).
4. Polysaccharide-Based Coatings as Drug Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutics (2023).
5. A Review of Recent Developments in Biopolymer Nano-Based Drug Delivery Systems with Antioxidative Properties: Insights into the Last Five Years. Pharmaceutics (2024).