Synthesis of novel combinatorial drug delivery system (nCDDS) for co-delivery of 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin calcium for colon targeting and controlled drug release

Abstract

Objective

Purpose of the current study was to improve the oral effectiveness of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by developing novel controlled, combinatorial drug delivery system (nCDDS) for co-delivery of 5-FU and leucovorin calcium (LC) for colon targeting.

Significance

On the basis of results obtained, novel controlled, combinatorial drug delivery system could be an effective strategy for the colon targeting of 5-FU and LC.

Methods

Free radical polymerization method was tuned and used to fabricate this nCDDS. The nCDDS is synthesized in two steps, first synthesis of 5-FU/LC calcium loaded nanogels and second, pre-synthesized 5-FU and LC loaded nanogels were dispersed in pectin based polymerized matrix hard gel. The nanogels and nCDDS gels were characterized for network structure, thermal stability, and surface morphology. Swelling and in vitro release studies were carried out at different pH 1.2 and 7.4 both for naive nanogels and combined matrix gels. In vivo study of combinatorial gel was performed on rabbits by using HPLC method to estimate plasma drug concentration and pharmacokinetics parameters.

Results

Structure and thermal analysis confirmed the formation of stable polymeric network. SEM of nanogels and combinatorial gels showed that the spongy and rough edges particles and uniformly distributed in the combinatorial gel. The prepared nCDDS showed excellent water loving capacity and pH responsiveness. Combinatorial gel showed excellent characteristic for colonic delivery of drugs, which were confirmed by various in vitro and in vivo characterizations. Acute oral toxicity study of combinatorial gel confirmed the biocompatible and nontoxic characteristics of developed formulation.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it can be found that nCDDS showed excellent properties regarding drug targeting in a controllable manner as compared to naive PEGylated nanogels.

Keywords:

• Combinatorial gel
• colon targeting
• controlled release
• 5-fluorouracil
• leucovorin calcium

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors are thankful to HEC (Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan) and Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine (The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan), which provided all the financial support regarding study.