title: Preparation and characterization of solid lipid nanospheres containing paclitaxel.
abstract: The study describes the development of stealth and non-stealth solid lipid nanospheres (SLNs) as colloidal carriers for paclitaxel, a drug with very low solubility. SLNs are constituted mainly of bioacceptable and biodegradable lipids, such as tripalmitin and phosphatidylcholine, and can incorporate amounts of paclitaxel up to 2.8%. Stealth and non-stealth loaded SLNs are in the nanometer size range and can be sterilized and freeze-dried. Thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry) showed that paclitaxel is not able to crystallize in the SLNs. Release of paclitaxel from SLNs is very low. Non-stealth and stealth SLNs are stable over time without precipitation of paclitaxel and can be proposed for its parenteral administration.
authors.affiliation: Dipatmento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Torino, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cavalli
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gasco
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D004337:Drug Carriers; D006207:Half-Life; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D014280:Triglycerides; C005859:tripalmitin; D017239:Paclitaxel