Micelles-based systems and their versatile application in different industries

Abstract

Polymeric Micelles with their special chemical conformations which pose both hydrophobic and hydrophilic structures, provide valuable properties that enable them to be used in various applications either academic sciences or industrial aspects. They can offer useful features, such as increasing the solubility, stability, bioavailability, and compatibility for a wide category of materials. In this review, the important types of micelles including normal, reverse, and unimolecular micelles were first mentioned, and then their popular applications in medicine, cosmetics, detergents, agriculture, environment, food, district heating/cooling fluids, and oil and petroleum were discussed. Among different applications, micellar systems are appropriate systems to be served as significant vehicles in the delivery of various ingredients and biomolecules. Their applications are more common in the medical, food, cosmetic, and detergent industries. However, by improving their physicochemical properties with novel methods there is a hope to introduce new generations of smart micellar systems with more applications.