Development and characterization of miltefosine-loaded polymeric micelles for cancer treatment

Miltefosine presents antineoplastic activity but high hemolytic potential. Its use in cancer has been limited to treating cutaneous metastasis of breast cancer. To decrease hemolytic potential, we developed a formulation of miltefosine-loaded polymeric micelles (PM) of the copolymer Pluronic-F127. A central composite design was applied and the analysis of variance showed that the optimum level of hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersity index predicted by the model and experimentally confirmed were 29nm and 0.105, respectively. Thermal analyses confirmed that miltefosine was molecularly dispersed within PM. Pluronic-F127 PM with miltefosine 80μM presented a significant reduction of hemolytic effect (80%, p