Recent advances in drug delivery of polymeric nano-micelles

Zarith Asyikin Binti Abdul Aziz, Akil Ahmad, Siti Hamidah Mohd-Setapar*, Hashim Hassan, David Lokhat, Mohammad Amjad Kamal, Ghulam M. Ashraf

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In clinical studies, drugs with hydrophobic characteristic usually reflect low bioavailability, poor drug absorption, and inability to achieve the therapeutic concentration in blood. The production of poor solubility drugs, in abundance, by pharmaceutical industries calls for an urgent need to find the alternatives for resolving the above mentioned shortcomings. Poor water solubility drugs loaded with polymeric micelle seem to be the best alternative to enhance drugs solubility and bioavailability. Polymeric micelle, formed by self-assembled of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous environment, functioned as solubilizing agent for hydrophobic drug. This review discusses the fundamentals of polymeric micelle as drug carrier through representative literature, and demonstrates some applications in various clinical trials. The structure, characteristic, and formation of polymeric micelle have been discussed firstly. Next, this manuscript focuses on the potential of polymeric micelles as drug vehicle in oral, transdermal routes, and anti-cancer agent. Several results from previous studies have been reproduced in this review in order to prove the efficacy of the micelles in delivering hydrophobic drugs. Lastly, future strategies to broaden the application of polymeric micelles in pharmaceutical industries have been highlighted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-29
Number of pages14
JournalCurrent Drug Metabolism
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Block polymers
  • Drug delivery
  • Nano-micelles
  • Surfactants
  • Therapeutic effect

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