title: A ceramic-based anticancer drug delivery system to treat breast cancer.
abstract: Drug delivery systems offer the advantage of sustained targeted release with minimal side effect. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of a porous silica-calcium phosphate nanocomposite (SCPC) as a new delivery system for 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro studies showed that two formulations; SCPC50/5-FU and SCPC75/5-FU hybrids were very cytotoxic for 4T1 mammary tumor cells. In contrast, control SCPCs without drug did not show any measurable toxic effect. Release kinetics studies showed that SCPC75/5-FU hybrid provided a burst release of 5-FU in the first 24 h followed by a sustained release of a therapeutic dose (30.7 microg/day) of the drug for up to 32 days. Moreover, subcutaneous implantation of SCPC75/5-FU hybrid disk in an immunocompetent murine model of breast cancer stopped 4T1 tumor growth. Blood analyses showed comparable concentrations of Ca, P and Si in animals implanted with or without SCPC75 disks. These results strongly suggest that SCPC/5-FU hybrids can provide an effective treatment for solid tumors with minimal side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, DCH 177, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. arelgha@uncc.edu
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Ghannam
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malkawi
authors.forename: Kiarash
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jahed
authors.forename: Kumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vedantham
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wyan
authors.forename: Lauren D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dréau
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002516:Ceramics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents