Crosslinked casein micelles bound paclitaxel as enzyme activated intracellular drug delivery systems for cancer therapy

•Cross-linked casein micelles (CCM) were prepared using casein self-assembly properties.•The CCM were degraded immediately after exposition to proteases.•The CCM were able to load paclitaxel (PTX) in their structure.•In vitro studies in models cells showed that CCM@PTX improve the toxicity of PTX.•CCM@PTX have potential for parenteral administration to treat cancers with proteases overexpression.