Paclitaxel and its formulations.
Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a promising anti-tumor agent with poor water solubility. It is effective for various cancers especially ovarian and breast cancer. Intravenous administration of a current formulation in a non-aqueous vehicle containing Cremophor EL may cause allergic reactions and precipitation on aqueous dilution. Moreover, the extensive clinical use of this drug is somewhat delayed due to the lack of appropriate delivery vehicles. Due to this there is a need for the development of alternate formulation of paclitaxel having good aqueous solubility and at the same time free of any side effects. Various approaches employed so far include cosolvents, emulsions, micelles, liposomes, microspheres nanoparticles, cyclodextrins, pastes, and implants etc. which are discussed in this paper.
Singla
Anil K
AK
University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, 160 014, Chandigarh, India. aksingla@mailmettoday.com
Garg
Alka
A
Aggarwal
Deepika
D
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004337:Drug Carriers; D017239:Paclitaxel