Telodendrimer-based nanocarriers for the treatment of ovarian cancer

PEG-dendritic block copolymer (telodendrimer) is a unique class of polymers with well-defined structures and tunable aggregation properties, which have been recently developed as novel micelle-based nanocarriers. This new class of nanocarrier is highly versatile, robust, multifunctional and has many unique properties for drug delivery that are superior to most other nanocarriers reported in the literature. Reversible crosslinking of micelles is able to minimize the premature drug release during circulation. These crosslinks can be reversed with endogenous and/or exogenous stimuli. To further facilitate the precise delivery of nanoparticle drugs to cancer cells, the nanoparticles surface can be decorated with ovarian cancer targeting ligands. This review is focused on the various strategies used for the design, preparation, pharmacokinetic, biodistribution and preclinical therapeutic applications of telodendrimer-based nanocarriers for drug delivery in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Lastly, future perspectives for the development of ovarian cancer-targeting telodendrimer nanotherapeutics are also explored.