308
7.2 Cyclodextrin Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery System
Since the nineteenth century, extraordinary scientific work has been done to explore
the pharmaceutical potential of cyclodextrins, and they have been the subject of
numerous scientific literature; cyclodextrins have been used in the pharmaceutical
industry since the 1970s with the first product prostaglandin E2/β-cyclodextrins
(Prostarmon ETM sublingual tablet) marketed in Japan in 1976. Cyclodextrins offer
notable advantages due to their unique ability to form inclusion complexes with a
variety of organic and inorganic lipophilic molecules. Cyclodextrins act as true carriers by dissolving and delivering hydrophobic drug molecules through the aqueous
exterior of lipophilic biological membrane barriers, e.g., mucosa. In general, only
dissolved drug molecules can partition into the barrier and then penetrate through it.
In addition, cyclodextrins are known to self-assemble to form nanosized aggregates
in aqueous solutions and thus have the potential of being developed into novel drug
delivery systems (Messner et al. 2010). This characteristic is promising for a broad
range of nanotechnology domains such as drug delivery, cancer therapy, gene delivery, and biosensing.
Cyclodextrins are advantageous in drug delivery because the bucket-shaped cavity shields the drug from degradation and irritation is lessened at the administration
site. Cyclodextrin-based nanoparticles facilitate a novel drug delivery system with
the advantages of both components: the cyclodextrin molecules offer enhanced
water solubility and drug loading, while the nanoparticles afford targeted drug
delivery. Additionally, cyclodextrins can surmount the constraints of nanoparticles
such as low encapsulation efficiency and drug loading. Cyclodextrin-based nanoparticles yield a novel drug delivery system with the advantages of both components:
the cyclodextrin molecules offer enhanced water solubility and drug loading, while
the nanoparticles afford targeted drug delivery.
7.2.1 Anticancer Drugs
Oral administration of paclitaxel is still considered one of the most suitable and
safe modes of delivery. Hamada et al. (2006) studied the aqueous solubility behavior of anticancer agent paclitaxel employing 11 kinds of cyclodextrins and the
bioactivity of the paclitaxel-cyclodextrin inclusion complex. They have reported
that 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin was most effective, and paclitaxel showed significant solubility in 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin aqueous solution. Moreover, this
inclusion complex revealed a 1.23-fold polymerization activity as paclitaxel in a
tubulin assay. Cancer therapy is currently changing from a standardized systemic
strategy to more personalized and precisely customized disease therapy. Such personalized treatments use multifunctional drugs in association with drug carrier systems to target the molecular level at a specific site.
A. Pandey
7.2 Cyclodextrin Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery System
Since the nineteenth century, extraordinary scientific work has been done to explore
the pharmaceutical potential of cyclodextrins, and they have been the subject of
numerous scientific literature; cyclodextrins have been used in the pharmaceutical
industry since the 1970s with the first product prostaglandin E2/β-cyclodextrins
(Prostarmon ETM sublingual tablet) marketed in Japan in 1976. Cyclodextrins offer
notable advantages due to their unique ability to form inclusion complexes with a
variety of organic and inorganic lipophilic molecules. Cyclodextrins act as true carriers by dissolving and delivering hydrophobic drug molecules through the aqueous
exterior of lipophilic biological membrane barriers, e.g., mucosa. In general, only
dissolved drug molecules can partition into the barrier and then penetrate through it.
In addition, cyclodextrins are known to self-assemble to form nanosized aggregates
in aqueous solutions and thus have the potential of being developed into novel drug
delivery systems (Messner et al. 2010). This characteristic is promising for a broad
range of nanotechnology domains such as drug delivery, cancer therapy, gene delivery, and biosensing.
Cyclodextrins are advantageous in drug delivery because the bucket-shaped cavity shields the drug from degradation and irritation is lessened at the administration
site. Cyclodextrin-based nanoparticles facilitate a novel drug delivery system with
the advantages of both components: the cyclodextrin molecules offer enhanced
water solubility and drug loading, while the nanoparticles afford targeted drug
delivery. Additionally, cyclodextrins can surmount the constraints of nanoparticles
such as low encapsulation efficiency and drug loading. Cyclodextrin-based nanoparticles yield a novel drug delivery system with the advantages of both components:
the cyclodextrin molecules offer enhanced water solubility and drug loading, while
the nanoparticles afford targeted drug delivery.
7.2.1 Anticancer Drugs
Oral administration of paclitaxel is still considered one of the most suitable and
safe modes of delivery. Hamada et al. (2006) studied the aqueous solubility behavior of anticancer agent paclitaxel employing 11 kinds of cyclodextrins and the
bioactivity of the paclitaxel-cyclodextrin inclusion complex. They have reported
that 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin was most effective, and paclitaxel showed significant solubility in 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin aqueous solution. Moreover, this
inclusion complex revealed a 1.23-fold polymerization activity as paclitaxel in a
tubulin assay. Cancer therapy is currently changing from a standardized systemic
strategy to more personalized and precisely customized disease therapy. Such personalized treatments use multifunctional drugs in association with drug carrier systems to target the molecular level at a specific site.
A. Pandey