2024-04-09
Biocompatibility, Surface Engineering, and Delivery of Drugs, Genes and Other Molecules
A micelle is generally defined as a collection of amphiphilic surfactant molecules that spontaneously aggregate in water in a concentration-dependent manner to produce a metastable aggregate. The core of the micelle is hydrophobic and therefore can sequester hydrophobic drugs. Conventional micelles are formed from small surface-active molecules that have a polar head group and a hydrophobic tail (amphiphiles). However, micelles can also be formed from large amphiphilic block copolymers.