Tailoring micellar nanocarriers for pemetrexed in breast cancer: design, fabrication and evaluation.

To investigate the pemetrexed encapsulated polymeric mixed micelles (PMMs) against breast cancer treatment. We meticulously optimized the formulation and conducted extensive characterizations, including photon correlation spectroscopy for micellization, advanced analytical techniques and cell line assessments. The PMM exhibited favorable characteristics, with a spherical morphology, hydrodynamic particle size of 19.58 ± 0.89 nm, polydispersity index of 0.245 ± 0.1, and a surface charge of -9.70 ± 0.61 mV. Encapsulation efficiency and drug payload reached 96.16 ± 0.37% and 4.5 ± 0.32%, respectively. Cytotoxicity analysis indicated superior efficacy of the PMM over the drug solution. The PMM formulation exhibited controlled release of the drug, and demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells, highlighting its therapeutic promise.