Recently, drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles for cancer treatment have become the centre of attention for researchers to design and fabricate drug carriers for anti-cancer drugs due to the lack of tumour-targeting activity in conventional pharmaceuticals. Poly(caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-PEG)-based micelles have attracted significant attention as a potential drug carrier intended for human use. Since their first discovery, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved polymers have been studied extensively for various biomedical applications, specifically cancer therapy. The application of PCL-PEG micelles in different cancer therapies has been recorded in countless research studies for their efficacy as drug cargos. However, systematic studies on the effectiveness of PCL-PEG micelles of specific cancers for pharmaceutical applications are still lacking. As breast cancer is reported as the most prevalent cancer worldwide, we aim to systematically review all available literature that has published research findings on the PCL-PEG-based micelles as drug cargo for therapy. We further discussed the preparation method and the anti-tumour efficacy of the micelles. Using a prearranged search string, Scopus and Science Direct were selected as the databases for the systematic searching strategy. Only eight of the 314 articles met the inclusion requirements and were used for data synthesis. From the review, all studies reported the efficiency of PCL-PEG-based micelles, which act as drug cargo for breast cancer therapy.

Blending hydrogel with an amphiphilic polymer can increase the hydrophobic drug loading and entrapment efficiency of hydrogel-based formulations. In this study, a hydrogel formulation with star-shaped polycaprolactone-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-b-PEG) as the hydrophobic drug cargo is produced. The 4-arm and 6-arm star-shaped PCL are synthesized with different molecular weights (5000, 10,000, 15,000 g/mol) via ROP and MPEG as the hydrophilic segment is attached via the Steglich esterification. FTIR and ¹H-NMR analysis showed the presence of all functional groups for homopolymers and copolymers. M_n for all synthesized polymers is close to the theoretical value while GPC spectra showed a monomodal peak with narrow molecular weight distribution (PDI:1.01–1.25). The thermal degradation temperature and crystalline melting point of synthesized polymers increase with the increase in molecular weight and number of arms. All formulations possess high drug loading and entrapment efficiency (>99%) and increase with increasing molecular weight, number of arms, and amount of polymer in the formulations. All formulations showed a sustained drug release pattern with no initial burst, which follows the Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic model. The polymer hydrogel formulations showed antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. The hydrogel containing 4-arm PCL_15k-PEG is chosen as the best formulation due to its high drug release, good antimicrobial activity, and morphology.

The administration of poorly water-soluble drugs represents a relevant problem due to the low body fluids transport efficiency through hydrophilic hydrogels. Star-shaped co-polymers, i.e., amphiphilic polymers such as those with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic outer shell, can be used to improve weak interactions with drugs, with relevant benefits in terms of administration and controlled delivery. In this work, two different co-polymers, four-arm star-shaped PCL–PEG and six-arm star-shaped PCL–PEG, were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization to be loaded with ciprofloxacin. ¹H-NMR and FTIR analyses confirmed that PCL arms were successfully grafted to the mPEG backbone, while DSC analysis indicated similar crystallinity and melting point, ranging from 56 to 60 °C, independent of the different co-polymer architecture. Therefore, both star-shaped PCL-PEGs were investigated as cargo device for ciprofloxacin. No significant differences were observed in terms of drug entrapment efficiency (>95%) and drug release, characterized by a pronounced burst followed by a slow sustained release, only slightly affected by the co-polymer architecture. This result was also confirmed with curve fitting via the Korsmeyer–Peppas model. Lastly, good antibacterial properties and biocompatibility exhibited in both star-shaped PCL–PEG co-polymers suggest a promising use for oral delivery applications.

In the title compound, [Cu₂Cl₄(C₁₆H₃₂N₄)](n), the central Cu(II) anion of the macrocyclic complex cation is weakly linked to two Cl atoms of the tetrachloridocuprate anion with Cu-Cl distances of 3.008 (3) and 3.220 (3) Å, respectively, forming a chain parallel to [10-1]. The geometry of the Cu-macrocyclic complex is distorted octa-hedral with the bridging Cl atoms occupying the axial position at an angle of 173.44 (7)° about the central Cu(II) atom. The tetrachloridocuprate anion adopts a distorted tetra-hedral geometry. In the crystal, the chain is stabilized by intra- and inter-molecular N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds.