Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (769 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Particles consisting of aggregates of molecules held loosely together by secondary bonds. The surface of micelles are usually comprised of amphiphatic compounds that are oriented in a way that minimizes the energy of interaction between the micelle and its environment. Liquids that contain large numbers of suspended micelles are referred to as emulsions.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Micelle.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Macromolecular Substances; Dosage Forms
- See also
- Colloids; Emulsions
Related concepts
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 23,945 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Micelles” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 5,207 of them (21.7%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 9,749 records.
Reviews account for 1,469 records (6.1%) and meta-analyses for 2. Randomized controlled trials number 52 (0.2%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 3,598 |
| 2000-2009 | 5,391 |
| 2010-2019 | 9,749 |
| 2020 onward | 5,207 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,469 | 6.1% |
| Meta-analyses | 2 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 52 | 0.2% |
Method: PubMed query "Micelles"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Micelles: Break the Dry Eye Vicious Cycle | 2022 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 117 | cc by PMID 35435328 · DOI · PMC9189644 |
| Thermosensitive hydrogel releasing nitric oxide donor and anti-CTLA-4 micelles for anti-tumor immunotherapy | 2022 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 96 | cc by PMID 35304456 · DOI · PMC8933465 |
| Synthesis and self-assembly of curcumin-modified amphiphilic polymeric micelles with antibacterial activity | 2021 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 49 | cc by PMID 33849570 · DOI · PMC8045376 |
| Fibrillar and Micellar Aggregation of Semaglutide and Formation of a Chiral-Imprinted Glass | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 41917693 · DOI · PMC13080979 |
Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Micelles: Break the Dry Eye Vicious Cycle [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Dry eye disease (DED) impacts ≈30% of the world's population and causes serious ocular discomfort and even visual impairment.
- Closing excerpt
- Moreover, MTem/Los exhibit excellent biocompatibility and tolerability for potential application as a simple and rapid treatment of oxidative stress- and inflammation-induced disorders, including DED.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (209 words)
Dry eye disease (DED) impacts ≈30% of the world's population and causes serious ocular discomfort and even visual impairment. Inflammation is one core cause of the DED vicious cycle, a multifactorial deterioration in DED process. However, there are also reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulating inflammation and other points in the cycle from the upstream, leading to treatment failure of current therapies merely targeting inflammation. Accordingly, the authors develop micelle-based eye drops (more specifically p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) inhibitor Losmapimod (Los)-loaded and ROS scavenger Tempo (Tem)-conjugated cationic polypeptide micelles, designated as MTem/Los) for safe and efficient DED management. Cationic MTem/Los improve ocular retention of conjugated water-soluble Tem and loaded water-insoluble Los via electrostatic interaction with negatively charged mucin on the cornea, enabling an increase in therapeutic efficiency and a decrease in dosing frequency. Mechanistically, MTem/Los effectively decrease ROS over-production, reduce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, restrain macrophage proinflammatory phenotypic transformation, and inhibit cell apoptosis. Therapeutically, the dual-functional MTem/Los suppress the inflammatory response, reverse corneal epithelial defect, save goblet cell dysfunction, and recover tear secretion, thus breaking the vicious cycle and alleviating the DED. Moreover, MTem/Los exhibit excellent biocompatibility and tolerability for potential application as a simple and rapid treatment of oxidative stress- and inflammation-induced disorders, including DED.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 35435328 · DOI · PMC9189644
Thermosensitive hydrogel releasing nitric oxide donor and anti-CTLA-4 micelles for anti-tumor immunotherapy [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Due to their autosynchronous roles in shaping the anti-tumor immune response, complex immune regulatory networks acting both locally within the tumor microenvironment as well as in its draining lymph nodes play critical roles in the cancer immunotherapy response.
- Closing excerpt
- By virtue of its unique gel formation and degradation properties that sustain drug retention at the tumor tissue site for triggered release by the tumor microenvironment and formation of in situ micelles optimum in size for lymphatic uptake, this rationally designed thermosensitive hydrogel facilitates modulation of two orthogonal immune signaling networks relevant to the regulation of the anti-tumor immune response to improve local and abscopal effects of cancer immunotherapy.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (153 words)
Due to their autosynchronous roles in shaping the anti-tumor immune response, complex immune regulatory networks acting both locally within the tumor microenvironment as well as in its draining lymph nodes play critical roles in the cancer immunotherapy response. We describe herein a thermosensitive co-polymer hydrogel system formed from biocompatible polymers gelatin and Pluronic® F127 that are widely used in humans to enable the sustained release of a nitric oxide donor and antibody blocking immune checkpoint cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 for efficient and durable anti-tumor immunotherapy. By virtue of its unique gel formation and degradation properties that sustain drug retention at the tumor tissue site for triggered release by the tumor microenvironment and formation of in situ micelles optimum in size for lymphatic uptake, this rationally designed thermosensitive hydrogel facilitates modulation of two orthogonal immune signaling networks relevant to the regulation of the anti-tumor immune response to improve local and abscopal effects of cancer immunotherapy.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 35304456 · DOI · PMC8933465
Synthesis and self-assembly of curcumin-modified amphiphilic polymeric micelles with antibacterial activity [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundThe ubiquitous nature of bacterial biofilms combined with the enhanced resistance towards antimicrobials has led to the development of an increasing number of strategies for biofilm eradication.
- Closing excerpt
- strains that have the potential to be further exploited to deliver a secondary bioactive molecule within its core.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (259 words)
BackgroundThe ubiquitous nature of bacterial biofilms combined with the enhanced resistance towards antimicrobials has led to the development of an increasing number of strategies for biofilm eradication. Such strategies must take into account the existence of extracellular polymeric substances, which obstruct the diffusion of antibiofilm agents and assists in the maintenance of a well-defended microbial community. Within this context, nanoparticles have been studied for their drug delivery efficacy and easily customised surface. Nevertheless, there usually is a requirement for nanocarriers to be used in association with an antimicrobial agent; the intrinsically antimicrobial nanoparticles are most often made of metals or metal oxides, which is not ideal from ecological and biomedical perspectives. Based on this, the use of polymeric micelles as nanocarriers is appealing as they can be easily prepared using biodegradable organic materials.ResultsIn the present work, micelles comprised of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and dextran are prepared and then functionalised with curcumin. The effect of the functionalisation in the micelle's physical properties was elucidated, and the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities were assessed for the prepared polymeric nanoparticles against Pseudomonas spp. cells and biofilms. It was found that the nanoparticles have good penetration into the biofilms, which resulted in enhanced antibacterial activity of the conjugated micelles when compared to free curcumin. Furthermore, the curcumin-functionalised micelles were efficient at disrupting mature biofilms and demonstrated antibacterial activity towards biofilm-embedded cells.ConclusionCurcumin-functionalised poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-dextran micelles are novel nanostructures with an intrinsic antibacterial activity tested against two Pseudomonas spp. strains that have the potential to be further exploited to deliver a secondary bioactive molecule within its core.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 33849570 · DOI · PMC8045376
Fibrillar and Micellar Aggregation of Semaglutide and Formation of a Chiral-Imprinted Glass [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Semaglutide is a therapeutically important lipopeptide that comprises a lipidated peptide with a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) sequence, and may be prone to aggregation.
- Closing excerpt
- Semaglutide glasses may have applications in biomedicine or therapeutics (for example, as slow-release depots).
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (148 words)
Semaglutide is a therapeutically important lipopeptide that comprises a lipidated peptide with a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) sequence, and may be prone to aggregation. We show that semaglutide in low pH 2.4 solutions forms β-sheet fibrils, in contrast to the oligomeric and micellar structures formed at higher pH. Based on cryo-TEM images showing twisted fibrils and the modeling of SAXS data (and with knowledge from fiber XRD) and molecular dynamics simulations, a model for the β-sheet structure is proposed, which comprises curved β-strands arranged in an antiparallel fashion around a core that comprises the lipidated lysine residue. This structure results from the patterning of the charged, polar, hydrophobic, and lipidated residues. Remarkably, it is possible to form a glass from the base form of semaglutide with crotonic acid, an organic salt capable of hydrogen bonding. Semaglutide glasses may have applications in biomedicine or therapeutics (for example, as slow-release depots).
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41917693 · DOI · PMC13080979
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Block Copolymer Micelles in Nanomedicine Applications [5]
- Research article Block copolymer micelles: preparation, characterization and application in drug delivery [6]
- Research article Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions [7]
- Research article Polymeric micelles - a new generation of colloidal drug carriers [8]
- Research article Polymeric micelles in anticancer therapy: targeting, imaging and triggered release [9]
- Research article Advances in polymeric micelles for drug delivery and tumor targeting [10]
References
- Li S, Lu Z, Huang Y, Wang Y, Jin Q, Shentu X, et al.. Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Micelles: Break the Dry Eye Vicious Cycle. . 2022. PMID 35435328 · DOI · PMC9189644
- Kim J, Francis DM, Sestito LF, Archer PA, Manspeaker MP, O'Melia MJ, et al.. Thermosensitive hydrogel releasing nitric oxide donor and anti-CTLA-4 micelles for anti-tumor immunotherapy. . 2022. PMID 35304456 · DOI · PMC8933465
- Barros CHN, Hiebner DW, Fulaz S, Vitale S, Quinn L, Casey E. Synthesis and self-assembly of curcumin-modified amphiphilic polymeric micelles with antibacterial activity. . 2021. PMID 33849570 · DOI · PMC8045376
- Castelletto V, de Mello LR, Seitsonen J, Hamley IW. Fibrillar and Micellar Aggregation of Semaglutide and Formation of a Chiral-Imprinted Glass. . 2026. PMID 41917693 · DOI · PMC13080979
- Cabral H, Miyata K, Osada K, Kataoka K. Block Copolymer Micelles in Nanomedicine Applications. Chem Rev. 2018. PMID 29957926 · DOI
- Gaucher G, Dufresne MH, Sant VP, Kang N, Maysinger D, Leroux JC. Block copolymer micelles: preparation, characterization and application in drug delivery. J Control Release. 2005. PMID 16289422 · DOI
- Ghezzi M, Pescina S, Padula C, Santi P, Del Favero E, Cantù L, et al.. Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions. J Control Release. 2021. PMID 33652113 · DOI
- Jones M, Leroux J. Polymeric micelles - a new generation of colloidal drug carriers. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 1999. PMID 10469928 · DOI
- Oerlemans C, Bult W, Bos M, Storm G, Nijsen JF, Hennink WE. Polymeric micelles in anticancer therapy: targeting, imaging and triggered release. Pharm Res. 2010. PMID 20725771 · DOI · PMC2982955
- Kedar U, Phutane P, Shidhaye S, Kadam V. Advances in polymeric micelles for drug delivery and tumor targeting. Nanomedicine. 2010. PMID 20542144 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.