Π-π Stacked Polymeric Micelles as Carriers of Anticancer Therapeutics for Hematological Malignancies

The research presented in this thesis explores mPEG-b-p(HPMA-Bz)-based micelles as
nanocarriers for cancer treatment, with focus on hematological cancers. PM showed
good circulation and attractive tissue distribution in clinically relevant models of
multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, therapeutic outcome
of the developed formulations was minimally improved. This is most likely due to
the poor pharmacokinetic profile of drug-loaded PM in blood and consequently
advantages attributed to nanocarriers, such as target tissue accumulation, could not
be fully explored. Finally, physicochemical parameters of drug molecules that influence
drug loading and retention in vivo were examined. Further in vivo studies to evaluate
therapeutic effect of drugs with favorable drug retention can elucidate the potential
of this micellar system.