Preparation and Physicochemical Characterization of Biodegradable mPEG-PCL Core-Shell Micelles for Delivery of Artemisinin

Background: Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone chemical extract from Artemisia annua, is poorly resolvable in water and a fast-acting blood active in treating the acute attack of malaria. Methods: Artemisinin was encapsulated within mPEG-PCL micelles with a single-step nano-precipitation method, leading to formation of ART/ mPEG-PCL micelles. mPEG-PCL copolymers was characterized in vitro by HNMR, FTIR and DSC techniques. Copolymers with artemisinin were self-assembled into micelles in aqueous solution. The consequential micelles were further characterized by various techniques such as DLS and AFM. Results: The results exhibited the successful formation of spherical artemisinin-loaded micelles. The artemisinin-loaded micelles showed high loading efficiency. The encapsulation efficiency of artemisinin was 63±2.31%. In vitro release of artemisinin from artemisinin-entrapped micelles followed remarkably sustained release profile. Conclusion: The results indicated that the successful formulation of artemisinin loaded mPEG-PCL micelles can improve the drug delivery of artemisinin. The results showed that nanomicelles can be promising drug delivery systems for sustaining release of artemisinin.