Electrospun oral formulations for combined photo-chemotherapy of colon cancer

Publication date: Available online 3 August 2019Source: Colloids and Surfaces B: BiointerfacesAuthor(s): Heyu Li, Brenda Sanchez-Vazquez, Rita P. Trindade, Qiaobei Zou, Yang Mai, Liu Dou, Li-Min Zhu, Gareth R. WilliamsAbstractIn this work, we report new formulations for the combined photo-chemotherapy of colon cancer. Fibers were fabricated via coaxial-electrospinning with the intent of targeting delivery of the anti-cancer drug carmofur (CAR) and the photosensitizer rose bengal (RB) selectively to the colon site. The fibers comprised a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) core loaded with the active ingredients, and a pH-sensitive Eudragit L100-55 shell. The fibers were found to be homogeneous and cylindrical and have visible core-shell structures. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry demonstrated that both CAR and RB were present in the fibers in the amorphous physical form. In vitro drug release studies showed that the fibers have the potential to selectively deliver drugs to the colon, with only 10 – 15 % release noted in the acidic conditions of the stomach but sustained release at pH 7.4. Cytotoxicity studies were undertaken on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) and colon cancer (Caco-2) cells, and the influence of light on cell death was also explored. The fibers loaded with CAR alone showed obvious toxicity to both cell lines, with and without the application of light. The RB-loaded fibers led to high viability (ca. 80 % for both cell types) in the abs...
Source: Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research