The Design of Amphiphilic Polymeric Micelles of Curcumin for Cancer Management

Abstract

Curcumin, a natural phenolic compound mainly extracted from turmeric curcuma longa, has been employed to prevent or treat plenty of diseases particularly cancer. It has been proven to modulate various signal transduction pathways and exhibits antiinflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-metastasis anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic in addition anti-cancer activities. However, its poor solubility and rapid degradation severely hampers the introduction into clinical setting. In this review, we focus on the design of polymeric micelles (PMMCs) which are nano-scaled drug delivery vehicles and fabricated from biocompatible polymers for efficient curcumin delivery. In particular, recent progress of curcumin loaded internal stimuli responsive PMMCs for further intracellular uptake via internal triggers is also discussed.