Amelioration of the therapeutic potential of gefitinib against breast cancer using nanostructured lipid carriers

Aim: This study aimed to improve the delivery and therapeutic potential of gefitinib (GTB) against breast cancer by preparing GTB-loaded, nanostructured lipid carriers (GTB-NLCs). Materials & methods: Box-Behnken design was used for optimization and GTB was loaded into NLCs using ultrasonication. The GTB-NLCs were characterized using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies. The anticancer efficacy of GTB-NLCs was evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide cytotoxicity and flow cytometry on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Results: Optimized GTB-NLCs were successfully characterized and demonstrated improved internalization and enhanced cytotoxicity compared with plain GTB. Gut permeation studies showed enhanced intestinal permeability, and pharmacokinetic analysis revealed 2.6-fold improvement in GTB oral bioavailability. Conclusion: GTB-NLCs effectively enhanced the therapeutic potential of GTB against breast cancer. Gefitinib is an important drug approved for the treatment of cancer. However, there are issues with gefitinib, including its low water solubility and toxicity. Being poorly water soluble, the absorption of gefitinib in blood is low and therefore high doses are required to achieve the therapeutic level. Also, gefitinib is nonselective for cancer as well as noncancer cells, leading to toxicity on other organs. This study aimed to incorporate gefitinib into a lipid-based carrier, which improved its properties such as solubility, stability and bioavailability. The prepared formulation was tested for its drug release, stability and efficacy on breast cancer cell lines as well as toxicity using various methods. It was observed that the prepared formulation not only improved bioavailability but also improved the targeting as more gefitinib entered the cancer cells when present in the formulation, decreasing the toxicity of gefitinib on other organs. In conclusion, the prepared formulation can be regarded as an effective approach to improving the therapeutic potential of gefitinib.