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

JENNIFER RIEDEL; MONICA TAQUEZ DELGADO; EZEQUIEL BERNABEU; MARIANA GARCES; MELISA NICOUD; CHRISTIAN HOCHT; MARIA J SALGUEIRO; PABLO EVELSON; MARCELA A. MORETTON; VANINA A MEDINA; DIEGO CHIAPPETTA

Congreso; 6ta Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFa 2020+1); 2022

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, accounting for almost25% of all cancer deaths. Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most effective antineoplastic drugs indicatedagainst lung cancer while curcumin (CUR), a well-known antioxidant agent, could minimize the mainside effects of PTX. In this context, we developed polymeric micelles of Soluplus® (PM) and SoluplusGlucose (PM-Glu) co-loaded with PTX and CUR by organic solvent diffusion technique. Micellar sizewas 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 successfullyencapsulated both drugs (2 mg/mL of PTX and CUR) and exhibited a narrow size distribution with ahydrodynamic diameter of ~85 nm for both systems. In addition, drugs-loaded micelles remained stableunder dilution in simulated lung fluids and the antioxidant properties of CUR were not affected byencapsulation. In vitro cytotoxicity studies showed a better antitumoral activity of the drugs-loadedmicelles compared to Genexol®. Finally, the biodistribution assay demonstrated a 6-fold lungaccumulation of the blank PM-Glu versus their glucose-free counterparts. Overall, our micellarnanoformulations stand as promising nanotechnological platforms to optimize lung cancer therapy.