Determination of critical micelle concentrations of Pluronics

Critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of Pluronics were determined by three techniques, namely 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence, sensitization of multidrug-resistant cancer cells with Pluronic unimers and a novel technique based on the migration of fluorophore-labeled lipid from liposomes into Pluronic micelles. The CMCs of each Pluronic determined by the three methods differ by no more than 30% and are consistent with data reported by different research teams. A literature review revealed a widely cited dataset of CMC values that differ significantly from data reported by other research groups, including ours.