Update on Polymers for Pulmonary Drug Delivery

Pulmonary drug delivery has been a rapidly expanding field, moving from the traditional propellant-based metered-dose inhaler delivery of small asthma drugs, to a broader landscape of new devices and novel drugs for local and systemic delivery. The field has greatly expanded yet the tools for pulmonary drug-delivery systems have not kept pace with the potential applications. One of the key developments has been the use of polymers to achieve better control of pulmonary drug delivery. This has the potential to expand the toolbox available for researchers in the field to deliver their new chemical entities successfully to the lung. This book reviews the use of polymers in pulmonary drug delivery, encompassing polymers from their use in devices and packaging, in addition to their use as excipients in formulations delivered to the airways. The book is arranged by application and extensively reviews the technical and patent literature. This is the first volume totally dedicated to polymers in pulmonary drug delivery and should be the resource of choice for those in the field, especially managers in the pharma/biotech industry. Naturally, the text will be of great interest to academics and graduate students. Finally, regulatory affiliated scientists will also find this resource invaluable.