Intravenous tolerance of a nanoparticle-based formulation of doxorubicin in healthy rats

A comparative toxicological study of doxorubicin bound to poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) nanoparticles coated with polysorbate 80 was performed in male and female Wistar rats. The drug substance was used as a reference formulation. The formulations were injected intravenously at a therapeutic dose of 6 mg/kg administered either as a single injection or in form of four weekly injections. The animals were followed up for 4 and 40 days (single injection) or 25 and 61 days (multiple injections) for assessment of the dynamics of body weight, hematological parameters, blood biochemical parameters, and urinalysis. Pathomorphological evaluation included macroscopic evaluation and weight measurement of the internal organs. The heart, lung, spleen, testes, and liver were also subjected to the histological evaluation. The overall result of this study suggests that the surfactant-coated nanoparticle formulation of doxorubicin has a favorable toxicological profile. Specifically, this formulation displays a considerably reduced cardio- and testicular toxicity, as compared to a free drug.