Over the past decade, the use of polymers for the administration of pharmaceutical and agricultural agents has increased dramatically. This field of controlled release technology has changed from being merely useful in research to having a significant clinical impact. As we look ahead toward advances in the next decade, one of the areas of greatest practical consequence in medical therapeutics of controlled release technology will be the development of biodegradable polymer systems. Such polymers offer the great advantage of enabling either site-specific or systemic administration of pharmaceutical agents without the need for subsequent retrieval of the delivery system. These polymers offer many other advantages as well.
While this book is focused on drug delivery, the value of biodegradable polymers is not limited to this field. Biodegradable polymers will be useful in other areas of medical therapeutics, such as sutures and bone plates and other types of prostheses. The polymers will also be useful in nonmedical fields, for disposable plastics, bottles, diapers and many other entities.