β-Glucan—A promising immunocyte-targeting drug delivery vehicle: Superiority, applications and future prospects

Drug delivery technologies that could convert promising therapeutics into successful therapies have been under broad research for many years. Recently, β-glucans, natural-occurring polysaccharides extracted from many organism species such as yeast, fungi and bacteria, have attracted increasing attention to serve as drug delivery carriers. With their unique structure and innate immunocompetence, β-glucans are considered as promising carriers for targeting delivery especially when applied in the vaccine construction and oral administration of therapeutic agents. In this review, we focus on three types of β-glucans applied in the drug delivery system including yeast β-glucan, Schizophyllan and curdlan, highlighting the benefits of β-glucan based delivery system. We summarize how β-glucans as delivery vehicles have aided various therapeutics ranging from macromolecules including proteins, peptides and nucleic acids to small molecular drugs to reach desired cells or organs in terms of loading strategies. We also outline the challenges and future directions for developing the next generation of β-glucan based delivery systems.