Bendamustine is a drug of choice for the treatment of several cancers including non- Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). The unstable nature of the drug, however, offers a major obstacle in its effective formulation development. The present study was aimed to achieve improved stability and efficacy of bendamustine via co-polymeric PEG-PLGA nanoparticulate approach. PEG-PLGA co-polymeric conjugate was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Bendamustine loaded nanoparticles (PLGA and PEG-PLGA) were prepared, optimized and characterized for size, zeta and electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). The average size, pdi (polydispersity index), zeta potential and entrapment efficiency for bendamustine loaded PEG-PLGA nanoparticles (PPBNP 15) was 297.3±2.055nm, 0.256±0.012, -6.62±0.081mV and 52.30±3.66%, respectively. The in vitro release studies displayed sustained release nature of bendamustine. The Krosmeyer-Peppas model was the best fit model as a result of kinetic modelling for in vitro release. The ex vivo hemolytic toxicity of the PPBNP 15 was significantly less (approx. 11%; 4 folds) compared to pure drug (p<0.05). The cytotoxicity study showed significantly higher anticancer activity against MCF-7, T47D and PC-3 cells (p<0.05) compared to naïve bendamustine. The developed biodegradable nanoparticles improved the stability of bendamustine and were equally stable, less toxic and highly effective against different cancerous cells.
Keywords: Bendamustine; Nanoparticles; PEG-PLGA conjugate; PLGA nanoparticles.
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