Title:Paclitaxel Formulations: Challenges and Novel Delivery Options
Volume: 11
Issue: 6
Author(s): Chetan Nehate, Sharad Jain, Ankit Saneja, Vaibhav Khare, Noor Alam, Ravindra Dhar Dubey and Prem N. Gupta
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cancer, drug delivery systems, liposomes, nanoparticles, paclitaxel.
Abstract: Paclitaxel (PTX), a taxane plant product, is one of the most effective broad-spectrum anti-cancer agents and
approved for the treatment of a variety of cancers including ovarian, breast, lung, head and neck as well as Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Poor aqueous solubility and serious side effects associated with commercial preparation of PTX (Taxol®) triggered
the development of alternative PTX formulations. Over past three decades, plethora of research work has been published
towards the development of cremophor free and efficient formulations. Various nanocarrier systems including nanoparticles,
liposomes, micelles, bioconjugates and dendrimers have been employed in order to improve PTX solubility and
eliminate undesired side effects. These nanocarriers offer the advantage of high degree of encapsulation and cellular uptake,
escape from elimination by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated efflux, and can be explored for targeted drug delivery.
The potential of these nanocarriers is reflected by the fact that various nanocarriers of PTX are in different stages of clinical
trials and a few have already been commercialized including Abraxane®, Lipusu and Genexol PM®. This review focuses
on the various challenges associated with PTX formulation development, limitations of existing formulations and
novel approaches for the development of alternative formulations for PTX and also highlights the development of novel
formulations in clinical settings.
