Study on orally delivered paclitaxel nanocrystals: modification, characterization and activity in the gastrointestinal tract

Drug nanocrystals (NCs) can improve the solubility and bioavailability of insoluble drugs for oral administration. However, the biocompatibility and mechanisms of transmittance of drug NCs through the intestinal epithelial tissue are still not well understood. In this work, the physico-chemical properties and interactions with biomolecules in oral delivery pathways, as well as the transmittance through mimical intestinal epithelial cells, of NCs of paclitaxel (PTX) are investigated. PTX was previously demonstrated to be an effective anti-cancer drug. It is found that maximum 1% (w/v) poly(styrenesulfonate) is sufficient to keep PTX NCs monodisperse in varied biological environments and presents no significant interaction with extracellular biomolecules for at least 24 h. The concentration of PTX NCs is kept carefully controlled to avoid serious toxicity to cells (10 µg ml −1 in our experiments but this also depends on NC size). The transmittance of PTX NCs through mimical intestinal epithelial reached 25% in 6 h, demonstrating its comparatively high oral bioavailability in the human body. This work demonstrates the great potential of PTX NC treated in oral delivery.