Functional Polymers for Nanomedicine

Interest in the application of nanotechnology to medicine has surged in recent years and could transform the way we diagnose, treat and prevent diseases such as cancer. However, the clinical success of nanomedicine is limited because of problems with toxicity and therapeutic efficacy. To overcome this it is essential to produce new nanosystems with specific functions, which can be achieved by designing new polymers with particular properties that can be used for nanomedicine. Functional Polymers for Nanomedicine provides a summary of the current problems and directions of the field and an overview of different polymers with particular functions including hyperbranched polymers, polymersomes, polysaccharides, polymeric micelles and zwitterionic polymers and their applications in gene therapy and drug delivery. This timely book is edited by a leading scientist in nanomedicine and provides a suitable introduction and reference source for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and academic and industrial researchers in polymer science, nanotechnology and pharmacy interested in materials for medical applications.

Youqing Shen is Qiushi Chair Professor, NSFC Distinguished Young Scholar and Director of Center for Bionanoengineering (CBNE) at Zhejiang University, China and Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Wyoming, USA. His research interests include polymer reaction engineering, biomaterials, drug delivery, gene delivery, cancer chemotherapy and nanotechnologies.