Drug delivery is commonly thought of as the performance of a drug in vivo. Rather, the process of drug delivery can comprise of the journey of the drug from manufacturer to clinic, clinic to patient, and patient to disease. Each step of the journey includes hurdles that must be overcome for the therapeutic to be successful. Recent developments in proteinaceous therapeutics have made the successful completion of this journey even more important because of the relatively fragile nature of proteins in a drug delivery context. Polymers have been demonstrated to be an effective complement to proteinaceous therapeutics throughout this journey owing to their flexibility in design and function. During transit from manufacturer to clinic, the proteinaceous drug is threatened by denaturation at elevated temperatures. Polymers can help improve the thermal stability of the drug at ambient shipping conditions, thereby reducing the need for an expensive cold chain to preserve its bioactivity. Upon arrival at the clinic, the drug must be reconstituted into a suitable formulation that can be introduced into the patient. Unfortunately, traditional drug formulations relying on oral administration are generally not suitable for proteinaceous drugs owing to the hostile environment of the stomach. Other traditional methods of drug administration—like hypodermic injections—frequently suffer from low patient compliance. Polymers have been explored to design drug formulations suitable for alternative methods of administration. Upon entry into the body, proteinaceous drugs are at risk for identification, destruction, and excretion by the immune system. Polymers can help drugs reprogram immune system response and, in some cases, elicit a synergistic immune response. The next phase of research on protein–polymer-based therapeutics encourages a holistic effort to design systems that can survive each stage of the drug delivery journey.

中文翻译：

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蛋白质-聚合物的输送：从冷链到临床的化学反应

通常认为药物输送是体内药物的性能。而是，药物输送过程可以包括药物从制造商到诊所，从诊所到患者以及从患者到疾病的旅程。旅程的每一步都包括必须克服的障碍才能使治疗成功。蛋白质疗法的最新发展使成功完成这一旅程变得更加重要，因为蛋白质在药物输送环境中相对脆弱。由于在设计和功能上的灵活性，聚合物在整个这一过程中已被证明是蛋白质疗法的有效补充。从制造商到诊所的运输过程中，蛋白质类药物会在高温下受到变性的威胁。聚合物可以帮助改善药物在环境运输条件下的热稳定性，从而减少了维持其生物活性所需的昂贵的冷链。到达诊所后，必须将药物重新配制成可以引入患者体内的合适制剂。不幸的是，由于胃的不利环境，依赖于口服给药的传统药物制剂通常不适合蛋白质类药物。其他传统的药物给药方法（例如皮下注射）经常会导致患者依从性低下。已经探索了聚合物来设计适合于替代给药方法的药物制剂。进入人体后，蛋白质类药物有被免疫系统识别，破坏和排泄的风险。聚合物可以帮助药物重编程免疫系统反应，在某些情况下还可以引发协同免疫反应。