.  

Over the past decades, enormous interest has been shown in the design of novel drug delivery systems capable of optimizing the value of the medication delivered, either by delivering the drug to the appropriate target area or by controlling drug concentration in the body over a convenient dosing interval.

To that end, the use of natural and synthetic polymers is of the utmost importance, and the number of polymers and the range of formulations available to control the rate of drug release are broad. Polymers with improved properties relevant to drug delivery, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and low antigenicity and immunogenicity, are constantly being sought.

In this context, the Centre of Biomedical Polymers (Centro de Polímeros Biomédicos; CPB) was created in 2003, at Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas Moniz (ISCSEM). We invested in a scientific area, which is emergent worldwide but still underexploited in Portugal, and in a multidisciplinary research team, essential to significant scientific advances in this field. In 2004, the merit of this Research Unit was recognized by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through financial support.

Welcome to the Centre of Biomedical Polymers.

Ana Isabel Fernandes
Associate Professor and CPB Co-ordinator