In this chapter we describe a series of polymer-drug conjugates synthesized in the last years. Our attention have been focused on known macromolecular supports such as poly(ethylene glycol) and N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers, as well as the novel macromolecular supports recently used in the synthesis of polymer-drug conjugates poly(amino acid)s, polylactides, cyclodextrins, poly(β,L-malic acid), hyaluronan, and chitosan. This chapter also describes the novel strategies such as combination chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and polymer-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (PDEPT) are included.
Keywords: Polymer-drug conjugates, HPMA, PDT, PDEPT, polyglumex, xyotax, polylactide, cyclodextrin, camptothecin, oligonucleotides, hyaluronan, taxol, chitosan, photodynamic therapy, poly (ethylene glycol) poly (L-glutamic acid), poly (amino acid)s.
