Π-π Stacked Polymeric Micelles as Carriers of Anticancer Therapeutics for Hematological Malignancies

Abstract

The research presented in this thesis explores mPEG-b-p(HPMA-Bz)-based micelles as nanocarriers for cancer treatment, with focus on hematological cancers. PM showed good circulation and attractive tissue distribution in clinically relevant models of multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, therapeutic outcome of the developed formulations was minimally improved. This is most likely due to the poor pharmacokinetic profile of drug-loaded PM in blood and consequently advantages attributed to nanocarriers, such as target tissue accumulation, could not be fully explored. Finally, physicochemical parameters of drug molecules that influence drug loading and retention in vivo were examined. Further in vivo studies to evaluate therapeutic effect of drugs with favorable drug retention can elucidate the potential of this micellar system.