Development and characterization of PCL-TPGS nanoparticles carrying docetaxel aiming prostate cancer therapy

Author(s)

Giovanni Loureiro Raspantini

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2018-04-23

Examining board members

Juliana Maldonado Marchetti; Marlus Chorilli; Rose Mary Zumstein Georgetto Naal; Laura de Oliveira Nascimento

• Advisor: Juliana Maldonado Marchetti

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men, with an estimated 68,220 new cases in Brazil for each year of the 2018-2019 biennium. Although tremendous progress has been made in the treatment of prostate cancer in recent decades, this disease remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Among the drugs indicated for its treatment, docetaxel appears as a first-line choice given its great therapeutic efficacy. However, severe adverse effects are related to the use of this drug. To overcome these problems, the delivery of chemotherapy in nanostructured release systems has been widely studied in recent years, given the several benefits it offers. Thus, the present work aimed to develop, characterize and biologically asses polymeric nanoparticles based on a copolymer of polycaprolactone- DL-?-tocopherol-polyethylene glycol-1000 (PCL-TPGS) containing docetaxel for use in prostate cancer therapy. The nanoparticles were obtained by the nanoprecipitation technique and characterized by their physical-chemical, morphological and biological characteristics. The systems were successfully obtained and have suitable size distribution for the proposed objectives (PSD 130 ± 18 nm, PDI 0.10 ± 0.04 and ZP- 30.1 ± 2.3 mV), high yield, encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity (98.7 ± 3.2%, 96.2 ± 1.1% and 5.01 ± 0.32%, respectively). Calorimetric and spectroscopic studies allowed the evaluation of drug physical state within the nanoparticle and suggest the encapsulation. Biological assays demonstrated a high ability of docetaxel-containing nanocarriers to cause cell damage in prostate cancer cell line (PC-3), reaching EC50 of 0.4760 ± 0.092 nM. The evaluation of the cellular internalization resulted in 97.64 ± 1.21%, consistent with the results of cytotoxicity. In vivo studies demonstrated efficacy of the system developed in an animal model, whose tumor reduction capacity was superior to the commercial formulation of docetaxel. The developed system has potential for the improvement of conventional cytotoxic therapy in humans, and further studies are needed to ensure its clinical safety. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/03013-4 - e-polycaprolactone and D-±-tocopherol polyethylene glycol-1000 nanoparticles containing docetaxel aiming prostate cancer therapy
• Grantee: Giovanni Loureiro Raspantini
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master