Title:Rediscovering Tocophersolan: A Renaissance for Nano-Based Drug Delivery and Nanotheranostic Applications
Volume: 22
Issue: 8
Author(s): Dickson P. Wande, Qin Cui, Shijie Chen, Cheng Xu, Hui Xiong*Jing Yao*
Affiliation:
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Druggability of Biopharmaceuticals, Department of Pharmaceutics, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009,China
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Druggability of Biopharmaceuticals, Department of Pharmaceutics, China Pharmaceutical University, 24 Tongjiaxiang, Nanjing 210009,China
Keywords:
Tocophersolan, bioavailability, bio-enhancer, drug delivery, nanoparticles, nanotheranostics
Abstract: A unique and pleiotropic polymer, d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (Tocophersolan),
is a polymeric, synthetic version of vitamin E. Tocophersolan has attracted enormous
attention as a versatile excipient in different biomedical applications including drug delivery systems
and nutraceuticals. The multiple inherent properties of Tocophersolan allow it to play flexible roles in
drug delivery system design, including excipients with outstanding biocompatibility, solubilizer with
the ability to promote drug dissolution, drug permeation enhancer, P-glycoprotein inhibitor, and anticancer
compound. For these reasons, Tocophersolan has been widely used for improving the bioavailability
of numerous pharmaceutical active ingredients. Tocophersolan has been approved by stringent
regulatory authorities (such as the US FDA, EMA, and PMDA) as a safe pharmaceutical excipient. In
this review, the current advances in nano-based delivery systems consisting of Tocophersolan, with
possibilities for futuristic applications in drug delivery, gene therapy, and nanotheranostics, were systematically
curated.