The efficient and selective delivery of therapeutic drugs to the target site remains the main obstacle in the development of new drugs and therapeutic interventions. Up until today, nanomicelles have shown their prospective as nanocarriers for drug delivery owing to their small size, good biocompatibility, and capacity to effectively entrap lipophilic drugs in their core. Nanomicelles are formed via self-assembly in aqueous media of amphiphilic molecules into well-organized supramolecular structures. Molecular weights and structure of the core and corona forming blocks are important properties that will determine the size of nanomicelles and their shape. Selective delivery is achieved via novel design of various stimuli-responsive nanomicelles that release drugs based on endogenous or exogenous stimulations such as pH, temperature, ultrasound, light, redox potential, and others. This review summarizes the emerging micellar nanocarriers developed with various designs, their outstanding properties, and underlying principles that grant targeted and continuous drug delivery. Finally, future perspectives, and challenges for nanomicelles are discussed based on the current achievements and remaining issues.
Keywords: drug delivery; fluorescence imaging; nanomicelles; spectroscopy; stimulus-responsive.