Targeted delivery of docetaxel to the metastatic lymph nodes: A comparison study between nanoliposomes and activated carbon nanoparticles

The objective of this study is to compare the targeting ability of activated carbon nanoparticles and nanoliposomes, which are used as carriers for delivering docetaxel (DTX) to the metastatic lymph nodes. In this study, we first prepared the DTX-loaded activated carbon nanoparticles (DTX-AC-NPs) by modifying the activated carbon with nitric acid oxidation and absorbing DTX in the concentrated nitro-oxide nanocarbon. We then prepared DTX-loaded nanoliposomes (DTX-LPs) by the proliposome method. The physiochemical properties of DTX-AC-NPs and DTX-LPs were carefully evaluated in vitro. The metastatic lymph node uptake and the injection site retention were investigated by analyzing the DTX concentration in metastatic lymph nodes and injection sites. The result showed that DTX-AC-NPs and DTX-LPs with suitable and stable physicochemical properties could be used for in vivo lymph node targeting studies. DTX-AC-NPs significantly increased DTX-AUC(0–24) and prolonged DTX-retention in metastatic lymph nodes compared to DTX-LPs and non-modified activate carbon in vivo. This study demonstrated activated carbon nanoparticles may be potential intralymphatic drug delivery system to preferentially target regional metastatic lymph nodes.