Co-delivery of Paclitaxel and Curcumin in polymeric micelles to optimize lung cancer chemotherapy

RIEDEL J.; TAQUEZ DELGADO M.; BERNABEU E.; GARCES M.; NICOUD M.; HOCHT C.; SALGUEIRO J.; EVELSON P.; MORETTON M.A.; MEDINA V.; CHIAPPETTA D.A.

Congreso; 6ta Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFa 2020+1); 2021

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, accounting for almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most effective antineoplastic drugs indicated against lung cancer while curcumin (CUR), a well-known antioxidant agent, could minimize the main side effects of PTX. In this context, we developed polymeric micelles of Soluplus® (PM) and Soluplus-Glucose (PM-Glu) co-loaded with PTX and CUR by organic solvent diffusion technique. Micellar size was determined by DLS and antioxidant activity of the micelles was measured by DPPH method. Moreover, in vitro cytotoxicity was tested in H596, a lung cancer cell line. Micelles successfully encapsulated both drugs (2 mg/mL of PTX and CUR) and exhibited a narrow size distribution with a hydrodynamic diameter of ~85 nm for both systems. In addition, drugs-loaded micelles remained stable under dilution in simulated lung fluids and the antioxidant properties of CUR were not affected by encapsulation. In vitro cytotoxicity studies showed a better antitumoral activity of the drugs-loaded micelles compared to Genexol®. Finally, the biodistribution assay demonstrated a 6-fold lung accumulation of the blank PM-Glu versus their glucose-free counterparts. Overall, our micellar nanoformulations stand as promising nanotechnological platforms to optimize lung cancer therapy.