Self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) improves anticancer effect of oral 9-nitrocamptothecin on human cancer xenografts in nude mice.
9-Nitrocamptothecin (9-NC) is an orally administered topoisomerase-I inhibitor for the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma, but its oral absorption and bioavailability are poor. The main objective of this study was to develop optimal 9-nitrocamptothecin (9-NC) microemulsion prepared by self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS). Two SMEDDS formulations of 9-NC prepared from a mixture of ethyl oleate, Tween-80 (T-form) or Cremophor EL (C-form), and PEG-400/ethanol were formed as microemulsions under dilution with aqueous phase. The resulting microemulsions were evaluated in vitro and in vivo, including the kinetics and antitumor effects in SKOV-3 human ovarian cancer xenograft in nude mice. Following 1:10 aqueous dilution of optimal 9-NC SMEDDS, the droplet sizes of resulting microemulsions were (30.8+/-4.6)nm and (39.8+/-8.2)nm for SMEDDS T-form and C-form, respectively, and the zeta potential values were -(4.3+/-0.5)mV and -(5.7+/-0.5)mV, respectively. In SKOV-3 cells, the growth inhibition (IC50) of various 9-NC formulations was greatest with SMEDDS T-form (3.5+/-0.7 nM) followed by SMEDDS C-form (4.6+/-0.4 nM), 9-NC solution (6.6+/-1.4 nM) and 9-NC suspension (26.0+/-2.9 nM) (P<0.01). It was indicated that the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-->8h) values of various formulations of 9-NC after oral administration ranked as the following sequence: SMEDDS T-form (360.12+/-19.44 ngh/ml) approximately SMEDDS C-form (351.71+/-33.66 ngh/ml) >9-NC solution (241.21+/-24.67 ngh/ml)>9-NC suspension (161.24+/-24.31 ngh/ml). The 9-NC SMEDDS formulations also produced significantly more tumor shrinkage (P<0.01) when compared to 9-NC suspension in nude mice bearing human ovarian cancer xenografts. The results suggest that SMEDDS is a promising drug delivery system to increase the oral bioavailability and antitumor effects of 9-NC and may be applied to other lipophilic drugs. 9-NC SMEDDS represents a novel 9-NC therapy for cancer patients.
Lu
Juan-Li
JL
Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, PR China.
Wang
Jian-Cheng
JC
Zhao
Shu-Xin
SX
Liu
Xiao-Yan
XY
Zhao
Hui
H
Zhang
Xuan
X
Zhou
Shu-Feng
SF
Zhang
Qiang
Q
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001682:Biological Availability; D002021:Buffers; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010316:Particle Size; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002021:Buffers; D004655:Emulsions; C079905:rubitecan; D002166:Camptothecin