Effect of pharmaceutical excipients on micellization of Pluronic and the application as drug carrier to reverse MDR

Linear amphiphilic triblock copolymers Pluronic, poly (ethylene oxide) - poly (propylene oxide) - poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) have been widely used in controllable drug delivery systems and pharmacy. Diverse pharmaceutical excipients can have different effects on their micellization behavior. Typical pharmaceutical excipients include salts, alcohols, surfactants and various polymers that can affect cloud point, size and critical micelle concentration (CMC) of micelles, and then affect the drug solubilization properties and applications. Since many anticancer drugs are insoluble, Pluronic are often used as carriers for anticancer drugs to improve drug solubility. It is worth mentioning that Pluronic are considered the promising carrier to reverse multidrug resistance (MDR), which is a major obstacle to the success of cancer chemotherapy. This review systematically summarized the effect of pharmaceutical excipients on Pluronic micellization, solubilization and their application as drug carriers to reverse MDR. In view of the importance of reversing MDR in tumor treatment, this review focused on the latest achievements of Pluronic in reversing MDR so as to provide theoretical support for the future application of Pluronic in reversing MDR.