Can aqueous two-phase micellar systems (ATPMS) be effective platforms for the encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs like curcumin as a model?

Resumo

Polymeric micelles (PMs) obtained by aqueous two-phase micellar systems (ATPMS) hold a large potential for cloud point (CP) extraction of biopharmaceuticals. However, the number of studies evaluating their capability to encapsulate drugs are still scarce, hence limiting their employment in formulations/systems. In this work, the effect of different choliniumbased ionic liquids (ILs) upon the clouding behavior of PEG-PPG-PEG amphiphilic triblock copolymer (Pluronic F68) was evaluated. The influence of the ILs on the binodal curves was dependent on the concentration and type of ILs added to the ATPMS. In summary, it was observed an increase of the biphasic region and the decrease of CP values (i.e. close to room temperature ~25 to 30ºC) by adding ILs to the copolymer aqueous solution.