Self-Assembled Nanocarriers Based on Amphiphilic Natural Polymers for Anti- Cancer Drug Delivery Applications.

Background: Micellization provides numerous merits for the delivery of water insoluble anti-cancer therapeutic agents including a nanosized 'core-shell' drug delivery system. Recently, hydrophobically-modified polysaccharides and proteins are attracting much attention as micelle forming polymers to entrap poorly soluble anti-cancer drugs.

Method: By virtue of their small size, the self-assembled micelles can passively target tumor tissues via enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR).