TAMOXIFEN LOADED AUTO-ASSEMBLED NANOPARTICLES FOR ORAL DELIVERY: CYTOTOXICITY AND PERMEABILITY STUDIES

摘要

Pharmaceutical nanoparticles have elicited a lot of expectation for new and innovative therapeutic approaches because they are claimed to be able to improve certain unfavourable properties of biologically active substances. When formulated in nanoparticles an active substance could benefit from improved bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy and eventually decreased adverse reactions and side effects. This is of particular importance for very potent and toxic drugs such as anticancer agents Nanoparticles, in fact, when administered through the IV route, are able to passively target solid tumours through the enhanced retention and permeation effect or to actively target cancer cells surface receptors or antigens by specific targeting moieties linked at their surface.