Current trends in the development of HPMA-based block copolymeric nanoparticles for their application in drug delivery

N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide-based block copolymers (pHPMA) have received attention due to their hydrophilicity, non-immunogenicity, biocompatibility and possibility of functionalization by various ligands. In addition to being hydrophilic polymeric form, HPMA monomers can be modified with hydrophobic moieties and the resultant amphiphilic polymers could self-assemble to form nanoparticles. In addition to entrapping drugs physically in the nanoparticles, multiple drug molecules can be conjugated on the monomers. The review covers the synthetic strategies, structural and chemical aspects of various functionalized pHPMA, and current state of the art research on development of pHPMA-based potential nanocarriers for various drugs. The design of grafted/branched pHPMA, pro-drug approach, star-shaped polymers and stimuli-sensitive pHMPA-based nanoparticles has been discussed. Overall, the review portrays the development of novel HPMA-based polymeric systems and their application in drug delivery platform.