Drug-loaded PCL electrospun nanofibers as anti-pancreatic cancer drug delivery systems

Abstract

Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide, being pancreatic cancer the second deadliest cancer in Western countries. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy form the basis of pancreatic cancer’s current treatment. However, these techniques have several disadvantages, such as surgery complications, chemotherapy systemic side effects and cancer recurrence. Drug delivery systems can reduce side effects, increasing the effectivity of the treatment by a controlled release at the targeted tumor cells. In this context, coaxial electrospun fibers can increase the control on the release profile of the drug. The aim of this study was to encapsulate and release different anticancer drugs (5-Fluorouracil and Methotrexate) from a polymeric fiber mat. Different flows and ratios were used to test their effect on fiber morphology, FTIR spectrum, drug encapsulation and release. Good integration of the anticancer drugs was observed and the use of a desiccator for 24 h showed to be a key step to remove solvent remanence. Moreover, the results of this study demonstrated that the polymeric solution could be used to encapsulate and release different drugs to treat cancers. This makes coaxial electrospinning a promising alternative to deliver complex chemotherapies that involve more than one drug, such as FOLFIRINOX, used in pancreatic cancer treatment.

Frontier Electrospun Fibers for Nanomedical Applications

“…In another study, human prostatic cancer PC3 cells exhibited 38% alive cells, while breast cancer cells were death by 40-50%, when core-shell PCL or PCL/PVA NFs were used in combination with 5-fluorouracil or/and paclitaxel [35]. Pancreatic cancer treatment was also studied in terms of NFs compositions (PCL with 5-fluorouracil or methotrexate) and processing condition influences on the drugs release profiles [36].…”

TARTESSUS: A Customized Electrospun Drug Delivery System Loaded with Irinotecan for Local and Sustained Chemotherapy Release in Pancreatic Cancer

“…The initial calorimeter flow used was 20 mWh −1 . Drug loading was also semi-quantitatively assessed by FTIR analysis of the drug-loaded scaffolds, following the procedure previously described [26], and using the equipment and setups described in the previous section.…”

“…For the development of degradable devices for internal areas requiring longer release times, as in this case, recent studies have demonstrated that electrospinning is a promising technique given the versatility of materials that can be used in the process, the ease of manufacture, the low cost, and the possibility of producing large quantities in a single process [25]. Moreover, the technology is still being updated to favor the different applications in which it is used [26]. These advantages, related to electrospinning as a manufacturing technique, make this method a versatile solution that provides an interesting approach for tackling not only non-clinical problems such as oil/water separation with nanofibrous membranes [27] but also more medical-related aspects like the loco-regional treatment of chronic diseases or tumors such as pancreatic cancer [26,28].…”

“…Moreover, the technology is still being updated to favor the different applications in which it is used [26]. These advantages, related to electrospinning as a manufacturing technique, make this method a versatile solution that provides an interesting approach for tackling not only non-clinical problems such as oil/water separation with nanofibrous membranes [27] but also more medical-related aspects like the loco-regional treatment of chronic diseases or tumors such as pancreatic cancer [26,28]. Regarding this last scenario, to avoid a re-intervention for the removal of the device from the inside of the patient, not only do biodegradable polymers need to be used, but the non-toxicity of the polymers also needs to be proved.…”

“…In recent years, several studies including the ones carried out by our group have analyzed the release of 5-fluorouracil and it has been shown that a controlled release of the drug can be obtained through a membrane formed by fibers [26,[29][30][31]. Consequently, this study was based on procedures carried out with 5-FU, but using irinotecan this time, another component of FOLFIRINOX that acts as a prodrug and targets DNA topoisomerase I, an essential enzyme for DNA replication [32].…”