Formation of micelles in aqueous solution occurs when the concentration of the block copolymer increases above a certain concentration named the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) or critical micelle concentration

(CMC). At the CAC or CMC, hydrophobic segments of block coLEE011 research buy polymers start to associate to minimize the contact with water molecules, leading to the formation of a vesicular or core-shell micellar structure. Figure 2 Formation and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical drug loading of PMs by self-assemble of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous solution. Theoretically, the formation of micelles is driven by decrease of free energy. The removal of hydrophobic fragments from the aqueous environment and the reestablishing of hydrogen bond network in water decrease free energy of the system and finally form the micelles. The typical methods used for encapsulation of poorly water-soluble drugs Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are dialysis method, oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation method, and solid dispersion method [37, 38]. Other methods used are direct dissolution [39], complexation

[40], chemical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical conjugation [41], and various solvent evaporation procedures [42]. 3.2. Structure of PMs PMs present a great potential as a drug delivery system for compounds that are hydrophobic and exhibit poor bioavailability which results from the unique core-shell structure. The inner hydrophobic core enables incorporation of poorly water-soluble drugs thus improving their stability and bioavailability. Typically, the inner core of the PMs was formed with hydrophobic blocks of the copolymers by hydrophobic interaction. Besides, it can also be formed by electrostatic interactions, using charged block copolymers of oppositely charged macromolecules, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical resulting in the formation of polyion complex (PIC) micelles [43, 44]. In addition, there have been reports of PMs formed by complexation via hydrogen bonding Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical [45–47] as well as metal-ligand coordination interactions [48], both referred

to as noncovalently connected micelles. The outer shell of PMs was formed by the hydrophilic 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl blocks of the copolymers, playing an important role in the in vivo behavior, particular for their steric stabilization and ability to interact with the cells [49]. Lengths of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks affect the conformation of polymers in medium, as lengthier hydrophilic blocks of polymer cause it to remain monomeric in water [50]. Amphiphilic copolymers which constitute PMs are usually block copolymers [51, 52]. Block copolymers can be diblock copolymers or triblock copolymers. Generally, diblock copolymers of the A-B type, where A represents a hydrophilic block and B represents a hydrophobic block, are commonly used to design PMs, whereas triblock copolymers consist of two types of polymers (ABA) [53] or three types of polymers (ABC).