The brain is a delicate organ and targeting neurological diseases with conventional approaches is still a daunting task. This is due to the presence of necessary physiological barriers, mainly the
blood-brain barrier, that blocks the entry of dangerous and poisonous substances from the bloodstream,
thus helping in maintaining homeostasis. Furthermore, the presence of multidrug resistance transporters
which act by prohibiting the entry of drugs across the cell membrane and by channelizing them to the
outside environment is another defense mechanism. Despite the advancements in the understanding of
disease pathology, only a restricted number of drugs and drug therapies can treat and target neurological
diseases. To overcome this shortcoming, the therapeutic approach using amphiphilic block copolymers -
using polymeric micelles has gained momentum because of its wide applications like drug targeting,
delivery, and imaging. Polymeric micelles are nanocarriers that arise when amphiphilic block copolymers spontaneously assemble in aqueous solutions. The hydrophobic core–hydrophilic shell configuration of these nanoparticles makes it easier to load hydrophobic drugs into the core and as a result, the
solubility of these medications is improved. Micelle-based drug delivery carriers can target the brain
with reticuloendothelial system uptake and produce a long-circulating effect. PMs can also be combined
with targeting ligands that increase their uptake by specific cells and thus decreasing off-target effects. In
the present review, we primarily focused on polymeric micelles for brain delivery along with the method
of preparation, mechanism of micelle formulation, and the ongoing formulations under clinical trials for
brain delivery
Cancer is a worldwide health ailment with no known boundaries in terms of mortality and occurrence rates, thus is one of the biggest threats to humankind. Hence, there is an absolute need to develop novel therapeutics to bridge the infirmities associated with chemotherapy and conventional surgical methodologies including impairment of normal tissue, compromised drug efficiency and an escalation in side effects. In lieu of this, there's been a surge in curiosity towards development of injectable hydrogels for cancer therapy because local administration of the active pharmaceutical agent offers encouraging advantages such as providing higher effective dose at target site, prolonged retention time of drug, ease of administration, mitigation of dose in vivo ,improved patient compliance. Furthermore, due to its biocompatible nature such systems can significantly reduce the side effects that occur on long-term exposure to chemotherapy. The present review details the most recent advancements in in-situ gel forming polymers (natural and synthetic), polymeric cross-linking methodologies and in-situ gelling mechanisms, focusing on their clinical benefits in cancer therapy.
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