Polysaccharide-based polyelectrolyte complex systems in drug delivery

A polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) can be defined as a complex of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes held together by electrostatic interaction(s). The formation of PECs requires only physical mixing of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in solution without any chemical covalent cross-linker. Natural polysaccharide-based PECs have been investigated as promising biopolymeric carrier matrices for various biomedical applications, including drug delivery. In this chapter, a wide range of novel approaches of drug delivery with PECs have been demonstrated with different dosage forms of PECs, such as hydrogels, beads, microparticles, nanoparticles, films or membranes, foams or cryogels, etc., along with their fabrication process, factors affecting the characters of dosage forms like delivery of various micromolecular and macromolecular drugs, mechanical strength, swelling behavior, etc.