Accelerating interest by the pharmaceutical industry in the identification and development of less invasive routes of nanomedicine administration, coupled with defined efforts to improve the treatment of respiratory diseases through inhaled drug administration has fuelled growing interests in inhalable polymer-drug conjugates. Polymer-drug conjugates can alter the pharmacokinetic profile of the loaded drug after inhaled administration and enable the controlled and sustained exposure of the lungs to drugs when compared to the inhaled or oral administration of the drug alone. However, the major concern with the use of inhalable polymer-drug conjugates is their biocompatibility and long-term safety in the lungs, which is closely linked to lung retention times. A detailed understanding about the pharmacokinetics, lung disposition, clearance and safety of inhaled polymer-drug conjugates with significant translational potential is therefore required. This review therefore provides a comprehensive summary of the latest developments for several types of polymer-drug conjugates that are currently being explored as inhalable drug delivery systems. Finally, the current status and future perspective of the polymer-drug conjugates is also discussed with a focus on current knowledge gaps.

制药行业对确定和开发侵入性较小的纳米药物给药途径的兴趣日益浓厚，加上通过吸入药物给药改善呼吸道疾病治疗的明确努力，激发了人们对可吸入聚合物-药物结合物的兴趣。与单独吸入或口服给药相比，聚合物-药物偶联物可改变吸入给药后所装载药物的药代动力学特性，并使肺部可控地持续暴露于药物。但是，使用可吸入聚合物-药物结合物的主要关注点是它们在肺中的生物相容性和长期安全性，这与肺部保留时间密切相关。有关药代动力学，肺部疾病，因此，需要具有明显翻译潜能的吸入聚合物-药物缀合物的清除和安全性。因此，本综述提供了几种类型的聚合物-药物缀合物的最新进展的全面摘要，这些聚合物-缀合物目前正在作为可吸入药物传递系统进行研究。最后，还着重讨论了当前的知识空白，讨论了聚合物-药物共轭物的现状和未来前景。