Molecular Encapsulator: A Novel Vehicle for Toxicology Studies

Abstract

The use of a molecular encapsulator, α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), as a novel gavage dosing vehicle in toxicology studies was investigated. p-Chloro-α,α,α-trifluorotoluence (CTFT) was chosen as the test chemical. CTFT can be easily encapsulated at the molecular level using α-CD molecular encapsulator in aqueous solution. The resulting molecular-encapsulated CTFT precipitates can be suspended homogeneously in water and can be used as a gavage formulation. The stability and syringeability of this gavage formulation were evaluated prior to being used in a toxicology study. Comparative studies showed that the molecular encapsulator released CTFT more rapidly than conventional corn oil vehicle after gavage dosing to male F344 rats. The results of this study indicate that the molecular encapsulator can be used as an alternative gavage vehicle in toxicology studies of water-insoluble or volatile chemicals to avoid the potential side effects of corn oil vehicle. Procedures for the analysis of the molecular-encapsulated formulation are also presented.

Key Words: :

• Molecular encapsulation
• Molecular encapsulator
• α-Cyclodextrin
• Vehicles
• p-Chloro-α,α,α-tnfluorotoluene