Microcarriers: A Transformative Platform for Advanced Drug Delivery

ABSTRACT Microcarriers have emerged as a promising technology in modern drug delivery. They offer significant advantages in controlled and targeted release of therapeutic agents, providing higher encapsulation efficiency, structural protection, and precise administration. Furthermore, it is vital in ensuring the safety and quality of the active pharmaceutical ingredient during drug delivery as external environmental perturbations may cause premature degradation. With the abundance of naturally derived materials, recent advances in microcarrier fabrication focus on the extraction of natural resources and present various microcarrier designs with improved biocompatibility and functionalization, offering new avenues for the development of versatile drug carriers. This review explores the four principal categories of microcarriers: polysaccharide‐based, protein‐based, pollen‐derived, and other synthetic polymer microcarriers, highlighting their development history, physicochemical properties, and transformative potential for stimuli‐responsive release mechanisms.