''N''-(2-Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide or HPMA is the monomer used to make the polymer poly(''N''-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide). poly(HPMA)

The polymer is water-soluble (highly hydrophilic), non- immunogenic and non-toxic, and resides in the blood circulation well. Thus, it is frequently used as macromolecular carrier for low molecular weight drugs (especially anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents) to enhance therapeutic efficacy and limit side effects. Poly(HPMA)-drug conjugate preferably accumulates in tumor tissues via the passive-targeting process (or so-called

EPR effect The enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect is a controversial concept by which molecules of certain sizes (typically liposomes, nanoparticles, and macromolecular drugs) tend to accumulate in tumor tissue much more than they do in normal ...

). Due to its favorable characteristics, HPMA polymers and copolymers are also commonly used to produce synthetic biocompatible medical materials such as hydrogels. The development of pHPMA as anti-cancer drug delivery vehicles is initiated by Dr.

Jindřich Kopeček Jindřich Henry Kopeček was born in Strakonice, Czech Republic, as the son of Jan and Herta Zita (Krombholz) Kopeček. He is distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at the Univer ...

and colleagues at the Czech (-oslovak) Academy of Sciences in Prague in the mid-1970s. Prior to this, it was used as a

plasma expander A volume expander is a type of intravenous therapy that has the function of providing volume for the circulatory system. It may be used for fluid replacement or during surgery to prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery. Physiology When blood i ...

. The Kopeček Laboratory designed and developed HPMA copolymer-drug conjugates as a lysosomal delivery vehicle to cancer cells. The concept of using pHPMA as polymeric drug carriers has opened a new perspective in modern pharmaceutical science, and developed into the first polymer-drug conjugate entering clinical trials (''i.e.'' PK1; HPMA copolymer-doxorubicin conjugate). The HPMA copolymers are also used as a scaffold for iBodies, polymer-based antibody mimetics.

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See also