Sensitive and rapid UHPLC-MS/MS assay for simultaneous quantifications of calcipotriol and paclitaxel in rat whole blood and plasma samples

A polymeric micellar drug delivery system developed through a design of Experiment approach improves pancreatic tumor accumulation of calcipotriol and paclitaxel

The aim of this study was to develop optimal micelles loaded with calcipotriol (Cal) and paclitaxel (PTX) for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using a Design of Experiment (DOE) approach. The central composite design (CCD), a type of DOE was used to tune the size and drug release properties of the drug-loaded micelles. This approach yielded optimal Cal and PTX co-loaded micelles (M-Cal/PTX) with size of 40-100 nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.25 and a zeta potential (ζ) of − 6.2 ± 0.8 mV. When evaluated in vitro, drug release from the micelles showed a biphasic pattern. The initial release, defined as the cumulative 2-hr drug release was less than 25% in all relevant media. This phase was followed by a gradual release with less than 80% of drugs released after 5 days. In vivo, the micelles prolonged the apparent biological half-life of Cal by more than 3 times and a marginal increase for PTX in an orthotopic mouse model of PDAC. The micelle-encapsulated drugs showed extended tumor accumulation when compared to non-encapsulated Cal and PTX at equivalent dose levels. Future studies on the antitumor activity of this novel dual drug payload delivery system are warranted.