Recent Advances in Dendrimers as Potential Therapeutic Delivery Systems

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Dendrimers are highly branched, monodisperse macromolecular architectures characterized by well-defined, symmetrical three-dimensional structures. Owing to their unique, tunable physicochemical attributes, these nanoscale platforms have garnered profound interest across drug delivery and biomedical domains. This review comprehensively examines recent advancements in dendrimer-mediated delivery systems, elucidating their capacity to optimize solubility, enhance bioavailability, and facilitate the site-specific targeting of therapeutic payloads. Key biomedical modalities—encompassing oncological therapeutics, nucleic acid delivery, and molecular imaging—are systematically evaluated to showcase the multi-tasking capability of dendrimers as vehicles for hydrophobic small molecules and diagnostic contrast agents. Furthermore, surface engineering strategies, prominently including PEGylation and targeted functionalization, are discussed in the context of mitigating intrinsic cytotoxicity and augmenting systemic biocompatibility. By exploring cutting-edge paradigms such as dendrimer–drug covalent conjugates and multifaceted hybrid nanoplatforms, this review underscores the transformative potential of these nanocarriers to advance precision medicine and offers crucial insights into overcoming translational bottlenecks in targeted therapy.