Issue 12, 2016

Supramolecular nanocapsules from the self-assembly of amphiphilic calixarene as a carrier for paclitaxel

Abstract

The encapsulation of paclitaxel (PTX) using amphiphilic calixarene (SC4-C6) is an attempt to improve its water solubility. The optimized nanocapsules were successfully prepared by a thin film hydration method where an organic phase containing the mixture of PTX and SC4-C6 (molar ratio of 1 : 10) was dispersed by probe sonication for 30 s into an aqueous phase. The optimized formulation of PTX loaded amphiphilic calix[4]arene nanocapsules had an average particle size of 206 ± 14 nm and an encapsulation efficiency of 82.65 ± 2.54%. Transmission electron micrographs demonstrated the sphere shape of the PTX loaded amphiphilic calix[4]arene formulation without obvious agglomeration. In vitro drug release experiments clarified the obvious sustained release behaviors of the PTX loaded amphiphilic calix[4]arene formulation compared to commercial Taxol. Furthermore, the PTX loaded SC4-C6 formulation revealed improved PTX induced cytotoxicity in human cervical cancer cell culture experiments in contrast to Taxol. The nanocapsules assembled from amphiphilic calixarenes obtained in this work displayed a desired narrow size range with acceptable drug loading and sustained release behaviors, which are beneficial for their potential application as an anti-cancer drug delivery vehicle.

Graphical abstract: Supramolecular nanocapsules from the self-assembly of amphiphilic calixarene as a carrier for paclitaxel

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Jun 2016
Accepted
20 Sep 2016
First published
21 Sep 2016

New J. Chem., 2016,40, 9923-9929

Supramolecular nanocapsules from the self-assembly of amphiphilic calixarene as a carrier for paclitaxel

M. Chen, T. Li, S. Peng and D. Tao, New J. Chem., 2016, 40, 9923 DOI: 10.1039/C6NJ01986B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements