Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Micelles for Drug Delivery Vehicles

Amphiphilic block copolymer micelles have been the focus of research for the last decades because of the promising properties as nano size drug delivery vehicles. In polar aqueous milieu, copolymers self assemble into micelle structures which consist of hydrophilic corona and hydrophobic core regions. Space created inside the micelle core can be used for transportation of drug molecules of hydrophobic nature, low solubility in blood, and with numerous side effects to human body, especially those for cancer treatments. In this paper, I present an overview for use of amphiphilic block copolymers as drug delivery systems by addressing the formation theory of self assembled micelles, factors affecting the efficacy of drug delivery vehicles and a number of methods to improve it. Two main functionalities of drug delivery vehicles with temporal and distribution controls will be discussed. Former term refers to protection of drug molecules from the enzymatic degradation during the circulation in bloodstream and latter refers to accumulation of vehicles around the target site.