Chapter 16. Tamarind Seed Polysaccharide in Novel Drug Delivery and Biomedical Applications

Over the last few decades natural polymers/polysaccharides have been explored for their potential use in novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) and biomedical applications. This impetus has arisen because these polysaccharides can be easily modified, have very good stability, resist biodegradation, are compatible with many excipients and drugs, are abundantly available, and are cost effective and environmentally friendly. One which has found resounding success is tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP); also referred to as xyloglucan, which has several applications in NDDS and the biomedical field. Several investigators have modified it to obtain its carboxymethylated, thiolated, aminated, or sulfated forms; many have combined or grafted it with natural or synthetic polymers, to improvise its functional properties. TSP and its modified forms are being widely utilized as mucoadhesive polymers and in situ gelling agents through various routes, with the most common usage being in OCRS as a release retardant in tablets or multiparticulate systems. They are a part of injectable implants, transdermal nanofiber patches, interpenetrating polymer networks, hydrogels, and nanoparticulate systems. However, their categorical achievement has been in the biomedical space where they have been found suitable in wound dressing, for tissue, bone, and liver-tissue regeneration and engineering, neural tissue engineering, and as a part of nanotheranostics. This chapter gives a detailed account of all these applications.