Since the late 1960s, the field of drug delivery has focused on the creation of new formulations with improved properties, taking much attention to drug release from the carrier. Liposomes and dendrimers represent two of the most studied drug carriers. A Modulatory Liposomal Controlled Release System (MLCRS) combining liposomal and dendrimeric technology has been recently published as well as Liposomal locked-in Dendrimers (LLDs) technology which was considered to be a class of MLCRSs. Chimeric advanced Drug Delivery nano Systems (chi-aDDnSs) can be defined as mixed nanosystems due to the combination of the bionanomaterials used and can offer advantages as drug carriers. This work deals with the production of two new chi-aDDnSs incorporating the newly synthesized dendrimer PG1. One of the two formulations bears the exact lipidic composition as the commercial liposomal drug "Myocet". Doxorubicin (Dox) was incorporated into conventional (free of dendrimer) liposomal formulations and into the corresponding chi-aDDnSs, and the physicochemical characteristics, the in vitro drug release and the in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines were assessed. The results revealed a different modulation release effect of doxorubicin from the chi-aDDnS, compared to the Myocet replica. Pharmacological cytotoxicity concerning all the chi-aDDnSs was very close to that of the conventional liposomal systems.
Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.