Advances in Polymeric Micelles for Drug Delivery and Tumor Targeting – Accepted Manuscript

Abstract: Plethora of the formulation techniques were reported in literature for targeting the drug to specific site. Polymeric micelle can be targeted to tumor site by passive as well as active mechanism. Some inherent properties of polymeric micelle such as size in nanorange, stability in plasma, longevity in vivo and pathological characteristics of tumor make polymeric micelles to be targeted at the tumor site by passive mechanism called enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Polymeric micelle formed from the amphiphilic block copolymer is suitable for encapsulation of poorly water soluble, hydrophobic anticancer drugs. Other characteristics of polymeric micelles like separated functionality at the outer shell are useful for targeting the anticancer drug to tumor by active mechanisms. Polymeric micelles can be conjugated with many ligands such as antibodies fragments, epidermal growth factors, ?2-glycoprotein, transferrin, folate to target micelles to cancer cells. Application of heat, ultrasound are the alternative method to enhance drug accumulation in tumoral cells. Targeting using micelles can also be done to tumor angiogenesis which is the potentially promising target for anticancer drugs. Polymeric micelles have been used for the delivery of many anticancer agents in the pre-clinical and clinical studies. This review summarizes about recently available information regarding targeting the anticancer drug to the tumor site using polymeric micelles.
Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine – Articles in Press