Dendrimers in leukemia

Dendrimers are highly branched synthetic polymers. It consists of enter core, integral region and numerous functional end groups. The growth of polymer occurs in outward direction from central core by stepwise polymerization. It is characterized with numerous cavities in the core structure creating channels and cages. Precise control of size can be achieved by the extent of polymerization. The intracellular uptake of dendrimers by receptor mediated endocytosis can be aided using the conjugation of biotin (Tomalia et al., 1985). Dendrimers contribute to drug delivery either by binding the drug on the periphery as prodrug, or entrapping the drug in the center core. Recent progress has been made to dendrimer formulary as a biocompatible drug carrier for cancer targeting therapy.