Noncovalent interaction-assisted polymeric micelles for controlled drug delivery

Abstract

Polymeric micelles are one of the most promising nanovehicles for drug delivery. In addition to amphiphilicity, various individual or synergistic noncovalent interplays including strong hydrophobic, electrostatic, host–guest, hydrogen bonding, stereocomplex and coordination interactions have been recently employed to improve the physical stability of micelles, and even provide them with certain intelligences or bioactivities. Through the ingenious designs and precise preparations, many noncovalent-mediated micelles display great prospects in the realm of controlled drug delivery, and certain species have been promoted to clinical trials. The current review presents the diverse noncovalent interactions that are applied to enhance polymeric micelles as drug nanocarriers, and preliminarily discusses the future directions and perspectives of this field.