Polymeric micellar nanocarrier (PMN) self-assembled from molecularly-engineered block copolymers.

Since Paul Ehrlich, the Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine, advocates the concept of “magic bullet” in the early 20th century, the selective delivery of drugs to target sites in the body has long been recognized as one of the most difficult challenges in scientific community. Indeed, many drug formulations composed from a combination of various materials have been developed to solve this issue of drug targeting ; however, they were encountered many serious difficulties, such as a lack of longevity in blood circulation, limitations in versatility of loadable drugs, uncontrolled drug release at target sites, and concerns of accumulation toxicity.

Drug development is becoming increasingly diverse, including biopharmaceuticals such as antibodies and gene and nucleic acid pharmaceuticals, in addition to traditional small molecule pharmaceuticals, and many of them are required to optimize biodistribution and improve selectivity for target cells and organs.