The effect of the oral administration of polymeric nanoparticles on the efficacy and toxicity of tamoxifen

The present investigation reports on the conditions for preparation of tamoxifen loaded PLGA nanoparticles (Tmx-NPs) for oral administration. Tmx-NPs with >85% entrapment efficiency and 165.58 ± 3.81 nm particle size were prepared and freeze dried. Freeze dried Tmx-NPs were found to be stable in various simulated GIT media (pH 1.2, pH 3.5, pH 6.8, SGF & SIF). No significant changes in characteristics of Tmx-NPs were observed after 3 months accelerated stability studies. The cell viability in C127I cells was found to be relatively lower in Tmx-NP treated cells as compared to free Tmx treated cells. CLSM imaging reveled that nanoparticles were efficiently localized into the nuclear region of C127I cells. Oral bioavailability of Tmx was increased by 3.84 and 11.19 times as compared to the free Tmx citrate and Tmx base respectively, when formulated in NPs. In vivo oral antitumor efficacy of Tmx-NPs was carried out in DMBA induced breast tumor model and tumor size was reduced up to 41.56% as compared to untreated groups which showed an increase in tumor size up to 158.66%. Finally, Tmx-NPs showed the marked reduction in hepatotoxicty when compared with free Tmx citrate as evidenced by histopathological examination of liver tissue as well as AST, ALT and MDA levels. Therefore Tmx-NPs could have the significant value for the oral chronic breast cancer therapy with reduced hepatotoxicity.