Leveraging Recent Advances in Self‐Assembled Polysaccharide‐Based Delivery Systems in Therapeutics: A Review of Key Properties and Strategies

ABSTRACT The design of novel drug nanocarriers is vital for advancing pharmaceutical innovations and enabling significant improvements in therapeutic delivery systems to enhance public health outcomes. The efficacy of the delivery process is heavily reliant on the carrier's proficiency in precisely reaching its intended target sites. Therefore, the need for advanced active molecules as carriers is progressively intensifying. Polysaccharides, sustainable polymers sourced from renewable biomass, rank as the third most abundant biomolecule in nature, underpinning a wide array of vital life activities. Polysaccharides with self‐assembled properties represent an innovative class of advanced materials with immense potential in drug delivery, enabling controlled drug release and enhanced stability while minimizing side effects. Thus, in this review, we confine our discussion to self‐assembled carrier systems based on dextran (DEX), cellulose, cyclodextrins (CD), alginate, hyaluronic acid (HA), heparin, pectin, and chitosan (CTS). The primary objective of this review is to comprehensively analyze the various modification strategies employed in the formation of polysaccharide‐based self‐assembled materials, examine their resultant properties, and provide an in‐depth discussion on the role of polysaccharide‐based self‐assembled systems in enabling sustained drug delivery to targeted sites. It is expected to provide some design ideas and inspiration for subsequent polysaccharide‐based drug delivery systems.