Bioadhesive micelles of d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate 1000: Synergism of chitosan and transferrin in targeted drug delivery.

The aim of this work was to prepare targeted bioadhesive d-α- tocopheryl glycol succinate 1000 (TPGS) micelles containing docetaxel (DTX) for brain targeted cancer therapy. Considering the unique bioadhesive feature of chitosan, herein, we have developed a synergistic transferrin receptor targeted bioadhesive micelles using TPGS conjugated chitosan (TPGS-chitosan), which target the overexpressed transferrin receptors of glioma cells for brain cancer therapy. The micelles were prepared by the solvent casting method and characterized for their particle size, polydispersity, zeta-potential, surface morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency, and in-vitro release. The IC50 values demonstrated transferrin receptor targeted TPGS-chitosan micelles could be 248 folds more effective than Docel™ after 24h treatment with the C6 glioma cells. Further, time dependent bioadhesive cellular uptake study indicated that a synergistic effect was achieved with the chitosan and transferrin in targeted TPGS-chitosan micelles through the biodhesive property of chitosan as well as transferrin receptor mediated endocytosis. The in-vivo pharmacokinetic results demonstrated that relative bioavailability of non-targeted and targeted micelles were 2.89 and 4.08 times more effective than Docel™ after 48h of treatments, respectively.