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Polyanhydrides are a class of biodegradable polymers characterized by anhydride bonds that connect repeat units of the polymer backbone chain. Their main application is in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry. In vivo, polyanhydrides degrade into non-toxic diacid monomers that can be metabolized and eliminated from the body. Owing to their safe degradation products, polyanhydrides are considered to be biocompatible. == Applications == The characteristic anhydride bonds in polyanhydrides are water-labile (the polymer chain breaks apart at the anhydride bond). This results in two carboxylic acid groups which are easily metabolized and biocompatible. Biodegradable polymers, such as polyanhydrides, are capable of releasing physically entrapped or encapsulated drugs by well-defined kinetics and are a growing area of medical research. Polyanhydrides have been investigated as an important material for the short-term release of drugs or bioactive agents. The rapid degradation and limited mechanical properties of polyanhydrides render them ideal as controlled drug delivery devices. One example, Gliadel(), is a device in clinical use for the treatment of brain cancer. This product is made of a polyanhydride wafer containing a chemotherapeutic agent. After removal of a cancerous brain tumor, the wafer is inserted into the brain releasing a chemotherapy agent at a controlled rate proportional to the degradation rate of the polymer. The localized treatment of chemotherapy protects the immune system from high levels of radiation. Other applications of polyanhydrides include the use of unsaturated polyanhydrides in bone replacement, as well as polyanhydride copolymers as vehicles for vaccine delivery. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Polyanhydrides」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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