Preparation and evaluation of tumour-targeted delivery systems for tocotrienol

Tocotrienol, a group of compounds present in vitamin E, has gained much attention in recent years for its tumour suppressive properties on cancer cells. However, its therapeutic potential was hampered by the limited ability to reach tumours specifically after intravenous administration. In this study, we aim to develop a formulation of tocotrienol that could be specifically delivered to tumours upon intravenous administration through the use of a tumour-targeted delivery system. Transferrin is an iron transporter whose receptors are often over-expressed in cancer cells due to high iron demand for tumour growth. Conjugation of transferrin to drug delivery systems appeared to be an attractive tool for selective receptor-mediated tumour delivery of therapeutic drugs. The objectives of this study are therefore (1) to prepare and characterize transferrin-bearing vesicles encapsulating tocotrienol and (2) to evaluate in vitro and in vivo the therapeutic and targeting efficacies of this therapeutic system. This work corresponds to the first preparation of a tumour-targeted delivery system able to encapsulate tocotrienol. The grafting of transferrin to tocotrienol-loaded vesicles demonstrated an improved therapeutic efficacy of tocotrienol to at-least 15-fold compared to free tocotrienol in vitro. Intravenous administration of tocotrienol therapeutic systems led to significant tumour regression and improvement in animal survival in murine xenograft models without visible toxicity. In conclusion, our findings showed that tocotrienol encapsulated in transferrin-bearing vesicles is a highly promising therapeutic system, leading to possible eradication of tumours as a result of significant improvement in tocotrienol therapeutic efficacy.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Fu, Ju Yen

DOI

10.48730/3hf4-bw93

Identifier

T12756

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:gt54kn05f