Fabrication of micellar nanoparticles for drug delivery through the self-assembly of block copolymers

Micelles formed through the self-assembly of block copolymers have been widely used to encapsulate highly hydrophobic drugs to increase their effective solubility. However, this emerging nanoparticle technology faces fabrication challenges that call for better understanding of the underlying principles that result in effective micelle-based drug delivery systems. Among the challenges, for example, are how to consistently prepare micelles with a narrow, predictable size-distribution and a high drug loading content, which remain stable upon dilution but dissociate upon reaching the target, and how to design drug carriers that can overcome drug resistance, which is the ultimate cause of cancer patient deaths. Specifically, drug carriers are needed that can simultaneously overcome the membrane-associated multidrug-drug resistance and the intracellular drug resistance. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.