Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Feb 18;4(2):1000164.
doi: 10.4172/2157-7439.1000164.

Paclitaxel Nano-Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review

Ping Ma  1 , Russell J Mumper
Affiliations

Paclitaxel Nano-Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review

Ping Ma et al. J Nanomed Nanotechnol. .

Abstract

Paclitaxel is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic drugs ever developed and is active against a broad range of cancers, such as lung, ovarian, and breast cancers. Due to its low water solubility, paclitaxel is formulated in a mixture of Cremophor EL and dehydrated ethanol (50:50, v/v) a combination known as Taxol. However, Taxol has some severe side effects related to Cremophor EL and ethanol. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of alternative Taxol formulations. The encapsulation of paclitaxel in biodegradable and non-toxic nano-delivery systems can protect the drug from degradation during circulation and in-turn protect the body from toxic side effects of the drug thereby lowering its toxicity, increasing its circulation half-life, exhibiting improved pharmacokinetic profiles, and demonstrating better patient compliance. Also, nanoparticle-based delivery systems can take advantage of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect for passive tumor targeting, therefore, they are promising carriers to improve the therapeutic index and decrease the side effects of paclitaxel. To date, paclitaxel albumin-bound nanoparticles (Abraxane®) have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, there are a number of novel paclitaxel nanoparticle formulations in clinical trials. In this comprehensive review, several types of developed paclitaxel nano-delivery systems will be covered and discussed, such as polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based formulations, polymer conjugates, inorganic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanocrystals, and cyclodextrin nanoparticles.

Keywords: Drug-polymer conjugates; Multi-drug resistance; Nanocapsules; Nanoparticles; Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid); Solid lipid nanoparticles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical Structure of PX.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jordan MA, Wilson L. Microtubules as a target for anticancer drugs. Nat Rev Cancer. 2004;4:253–265. - PubMed
    1. Gelderblom H, Verweij J, Nooter K, Sparreboom A. Cremophor EL: the drawbacks and advantages of vehicle selection for drug formulation. Eur J Cancer. 2001;37:1590–1598. - PubMed
    1. Sparreboom A, van Tellingen O, Nooijen WJ, Beijnen JH. Nonlinear pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel in mice results from the pharmaceutical vehicle Cremophor EL. Cancer Res. 1996;56:2112–2115. - PubMed
    1. Gallo JM, Li S, Guo P, Reed K, Ma J. The effect of P-glycoprotein on paclitaxel brain and brain tumor distribution in mice. Cancer Res. 2003;63:5114–5117. - PubMed
    1. Berg SL, Tolcher A, O’Shaughnessy JA, Denicoff AM, Noone M, et al. Effect of R-verapamil on the pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel in women with breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13:2039–2042. - PubMed