Polymeric Micelles as a Diagnostic Tool for Image-guided Drug Delivery and Radiotherapy of HER2 Overexpressing Breast Cancer

Block copolymer micelles have emerged as a viable formulation strategy with several drugs relying on this technology in clinical evaluation. To date, information on the tumor penetration and intratumoral distribution of block copolymer micelles (BCM) has been quite limited. Thus, there is impetus to develop a radiolabeled formulation that can be used to gain invaluable insight into the intratumoral distribution of the BCMs. This information could then be used to direct formulation strategies as a means to optimize treatment outcomes. This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of a targeted block copolymer micelle system based on poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) labeled with the radionuclide Indium-111 (Ph.D