Table 1.

Summary of different types of dendrimer with potential for being excipients, their chemical structure and their use in pharmaceutical formulations.

Dendrimer Name	Chemical Structure	Mechanism	Reference
Poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimers	Terminal groups with primary amines and the interior of PPI contains tertiary tris propylene amines.	Increased drug solubility through electrostatic interactions.	[36]
Frechet-type dendrimers	Hyper-branched architecture of polybenzyl ether. Contains -COOH groups as terminal groups.	Helps to enhance solubility in aqueous media and other polar solvents.	[25]
Peptide dendrimers	Peptidyl branching core and/or covalently attached as surface functional units.	Acts as surfactant and carrier for drug and gene delivery.	[25,37]
Glycodendrimers	Contains saccharide residues as terminal groups and a core with sugar units.	Site-specific drug delivery to the lectin-rich organs.	[25,38]
Hybrid dendrimers	A blend of linear and dendritic polymers.	Acts as a surfactant and drug-delivery system.	[25]
Polyester dendrimers	Polyester-based dendrimers.	Drug targeting, improved biodistribution, and modulation of drug release.	[25,39]
Poly-L-lysine (PLL) dendrimers	Core and branching units are based on the amino acid lysine.	Gene carriers and increased drug solubility.	[11]
Carbosilane dendrimers	Si-based dendrimers, allowing functionalization and stability.	Gene therapy enhancer	[40]