Formulation and evaluation of PLGA nanoparticles loaded capecitabine for prostate cancer

The objective of this work is to prepare and evaluate Poly (D, L-Lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) Nanoparticles (NPs) of Capecitabine, an anticancer agent loaded by solvent displacement method using stabilizer (poly vinyl alcohol). The prepared NPs were characterized by FT-IR, DSC, drug loading, entrapment efficiency, particle size, surface morphology by Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction and in-vitro studies. FT-IR and DSC studies indicated that there was no interaction between the drug and polymer. The morphological studies performed by AFM showed uniform and spherical shaped discrete particles without aggregation and smooth in surface morphology with a nano size range of 144 nm. X-ray diffraction was performed to reveal the crystalline nature of the drug after encapsulation. The NPs formed were spherical in shape with zeta potentials (-14.8 mV). In vitro release studies were carried and showed drug release up to 5 days. The drug release followed zero order kinetics and a Fickian transport mechanism. Nanoparticles obtained a high encapsulation efficiency of 88.4% and drug loading of 16.98%. Drug released from Capecitabine loaded PLGA NPs (84.1%) was for 5 days. It is concluded from the present investigation that PLGA NPs of Capecitabine may effectively deliver the drug to the prostate for the treatment of prostate cancer.