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Formulation and antitumor activity evaluation of nanocrystalline suspensions of poorly soluble anticancer drugs
E Merisko-Liversidge1, P Sarpotdar, J Bruno
1NanoSystems, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426, USA.
Purpose:
Determine if wet milling technology could be used to formulate water insoluble antitumor agents as stabilized nanocrystalline drug suspensions that retain biological effectiveness following intravenous injection.
Methods:
The versatility of the approach is demonstrated by evaluation of four poorly water soluble chemotherapeutic agents that exhibit diverse chemistries and mechanisms of action. The compounds selected were: piposulfan (alkylating agent), etoposide (topoisomerase II inhibitor), camptothecin (topoisomerase I inhibitor) and paclitaxel (antimitotic agent). The agents were wet milled as a 2% w/v solids suspension containing 1% w/v surfactant stabilizer using a low energy ball mill. The size, physical stability and efficacy of the nanocrystalline suspensions were evaluated.
Results:
The data show the feasibility of formulating poorly water soluble anticancer agents as physically stable aqueous nanocrystalline suspensions. The suspensions are physically stable and efficacious following intravenous injection.
Conclusions:
Wet milling technology is a feasible approach for formulating poorly water soluble chemotherapeutic agents that may offer a number of advantages over a more classical approach.