Marine Polysaccharides in Tailor-made Drug Delivery

Abstract

Abstract: Marine sources have attracted much interest as an emerging source of biomaterials in drug delivery applications. Amongst all other marine biopolymers, polysaccharides have been the most investigated class of biomaterials. The low cytotoxic behavior, combined with the newly explored health benefits of marine polysaccharides, has made it one of the prime research areas in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. This review focused on all available marine polysaccharides, including their classification based on biological sources. The applications of several marine polysaccharides in recent years for tissue-specific novel drug delivery, including gastrointestinal, brain tissue, transdermal, ocular, liver, and lung, have also been discussed here. The abundant availability in nature, cost-effective extraction, and purification process, along with a favorable biodegradable profile, will encourage researchers to continue investigating marine polysaccharides to explore newer applications targeting the specific delivery of therapeutics.