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
Review
. 2022 Feb 9;14(4):658.
doi: 10.3390/polym14040658.

Paclitaxel Drug Delivery Systems: Focus on Nanocrystals' Surface Modifications

Razan Haddad  1 , Nasr Alrabadi  2 , Bashar Altaani  1 , Tonglei Li  3
Affiliations
Review

Paclitaxel Drug Delivery Systems: Focus on Nanocrystals' Surface Modifications

Razan Haddad et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a chemotherapeutic agent that belongs to the taxane family and which was approved to treat various kinds of cancers including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Several delivery systems for PTX have been developed to enhance its solubility and pharmacological properties involving liposomes, nanoparticles, microparticles, micelles, cosolvent methods, and the complexation with cyclodextrins and other materials that are summarized in this article. Specifically, this review discusses deeply the developed paclitaxel nanocrystal formulations. As PTX is a hydrophobic drug with inferior water solubility properties, which are improved a lot by nanocrystal formulation. Based on that, many studies employed nano-crystallization techniques not only to improve the oral delivery of PTX, but IV, intraperitoneal (IP), and local and intertumoral delivery systems were also developed. Additionally, superior and interesting properties of PTX NCs were achieved by performing additional modifications to the NCs, such as stabilization with surfactants and coating with polymers. This review summarizes these delivery systems by shedding light on their route of administration, the methods used in the preparation and modifications, the in vitro or in vivo models used, and the advantages obtained based on the developed formulations.

Keywords: cancer; chemotherapy; drug delivery; nanocrystals; nanotechnology; paclitaxel; surface modification.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The chemical structure of a PTX drug.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The most common developed strategies to improve the delivery of paclitaxel drugs. SLN: solid lipid nanoparticles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO Cancer-Fact Fheets. [(accessed on 2 March 2020)]. Available online: www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/12/9/20182/3/2020.
    1. World Health Organization. [(accessed on 5 March 2021)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer.
    1. Patterson R., Fischman V.G., Wasserman I., Siu J., Shrime M.G., Fagan J.J., Koch W., Alkire B.C. Global Burden of Head and Neck Cancer: Economic Consequences, Health, and the Role of Surgery. Otolaryngol. Neck Surg. 2020;162:296–303. doi: 10.1177/0194599819897265. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Smith G.L., Lopez-Olivo M., Advani P.G., Ning M.S., Geng Y., Giordano S.H., Volk R.J. Financial Burdens of Cancer Treatment: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors and Outcomes. J. Natl. Compr. Cancer Netw. 2019;17:1184–1192. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2019.7305. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Altmann K.-H., Gertsch J. Anticancer drugs from nature—Natural products as a unique source of new microtubule-stabilizing agents. Nat. Prod. Rep. 2007;24:327–357. doi: 10.1039/B515619J. - DOI - PubMed