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The development of biodegradable polymers represents a revolution in medicine spanning over 50 years and leading to significant biotechnological advancements in drug delivery, biomaterials, tissue engineering, and medical device development while bringing together chemists, engineers, biologists, and physicians in a unique and collaborative manner. The time frame of this revolution mirrors discoveries of more potent therapeutics in the form of peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, and other bioactive molecules. The short half-lives of many of these modern therapeutics, in addition to the nonspecific distribution and toxicity of previously identified small molecule drugs, has been a major driving force for the development of polymeric drug delivery platforms. The successful clinical translation of the earlier macro-and micro-drug-delivery systems has led to the evolution of controlled-release nanodrug delivery …