Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Polyethylene Glycol Polyester Block
Nanoparticulate Drug Delivery
David S. Hart, Yunqi Zhao, and M. Laird Forrest
The University of Kansas 2095 Constant Ave. Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
mforrest@ku.edu
Poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO)-poly(ester) copolymers are biocompatible,
biodegradable diblock polymers that spontaneously form core-shell
nanoparticles (i.e., micelles) in water. The hydrophobic polyester core
of these micelles can solubilize small, hydrophobic drug molecules that
have shown promise in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.
This core has undergone much development in recent years to improve
the stability, drug loading capacity, and release rates of drugs. The PEO
shell is well known to increase the circulatory lifetime of micelles with
little or no immune response. This review will emphasize PEO-poly(ε-
caprolactone) polymers as self-assembled nanocarriers in order to
highlight recent advances in this area.
3.1 Introduction
Many of the more than 1,000 natural products that have been
approved by FDA in the last 25 years for the treatment of cancer
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