Home > Press > Oral delivery of colon cancer drug
![]() |
Abstract:
Oral administration of anti-cancer agents is both more convenient and less painful than doing so intravenously. It can also afford controlled and sustained release, and reduce side-effects caused by the drug (or drugs). However, the environment which they have to pass through sets strict requirements for the materials used to transport them. Lingxue Kong and colleagues at Deakin University, Australia have now created a delivery vehicle for the cancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) that survives the harsh pH conditions en-route to the colorectal area.
Dispensing drugs orally to this area of the body is particularly difficult because the delivery system has to survive the three different acidity levels of the stomach, duodenum and small intestine (pH 1.2, 4.5 and 6.8, respectively) before releasing at pH 7.4 in the colon and rectum. Reporting in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, the authors describe a water-in-oil-in-water multiple emulsion and solvent evaporation technique to first load 5-FU into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles. The drug loading, encapsulation efficiency and particle size were optimised by varying the fabrication parameters, including adjusting the pH value of the outer water phase to the isoelectric point of 5-FU. The loaded nanoparticles are subsequently coated with the anionic polymer Eudragit S100 based on methacrylic acid and methyl methacrylate. Importantly this is insoluble in aqueous solutions of pH 7 or less.
In vitro drug dissolution tests mimicking both the time spent passing through and acidity of each part of the human gastrointestinal tract show no 5-FU release at pH 1.2 and 4.5, with very limited release at pH 6.8. At pH 7.4 there is an initial burst release followed by an extended slow release of up to 120 hours. The system clearly shows promise for treatment of colorectal cancer because it overcomes the often seen problems of both early drug release from nanoparticles and poor functionality of microspheres.
####
For more information, please click here
Copyright © Wiley-VCH Materials Science Journals
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Link to the original paper on Wiley Online Library:
Related News Press |
News and information
Flexible electronics integrated with paper-thin structure for use in space January 17th, 2025
Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025
Nanomedicine
Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024
Unveiling the power of hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures August 16th, 2024
Discoveries
Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025
Announcements
Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025
The National Space Society Congratulates SpaceX on Starship’s 7th Test Flight: Latest Test of the Megarocket Hoped to Demonstrate a Number of New Technologies and Systems January 17th, 2025
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |