Drugs are rarely administered as pure chemical substances alone and are almost always given as formulated preparations or medicines. Drug dosage forms contain many components in addition to the active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) to assist in the manufacturing process as well as to optimize drug delivery. Due to advances in drug delivery technology, excipients are currently included in novel dosage forms to fulfill specific functions and in some cases they directly or indirectly influence the extent and/or rate of drug release. Developments of several drug delivery systems are based on polymers act as excipients that do not change their chemical structure but these materials degrade within the body as a result of natural biological processes, eliminating the need to remove a drug delivery system after release of the active agent has been completed. The microbial Exopolysaccharides are water-soluble biomaterials secreted by a variety of micro-organisms during fermentation. These are chemically well-defined and have attracted worldwide attention as excipients due to their novel and unique physico-chemical properties. These Exopolysaccharides used multifarious industrial applications in foods, pharmaceuticals as emulsifiers, stabilizers, binders, gelling agents, lubricants and thickening agents. These are emerging as new sources of polymeric materials which are posses’ special characteristics such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, bioadhesivity, mechanical and chemical resistance, swelling and gelling power which are gradually becoming economically competitive and as promising biomaterials for drug delivery This review discusses some of the important physicochemical properties, and applications of some novel Exopolysaccharides that are used or investigated as excipients in development of drug delivery systems.
