Preparation and characterization of dry powder containing sunitinib loaded PHBV nanoparticles for enhanced pulmonary delivery

Abstract

Sunitinib has been extensively used in treatment of lung cancer, but its clinical application is greatly undermined due to its adverse and undesirable systemic toxic effects. Here, we developed a form of nanoparticulate dry powder for targeted pulmonary delivery of sunitinib. Sunitinib loaded poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate acid) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by solvent-emulsification evaporation method and optimized using irregular factorial design. The cytotoxicity of free sunitinib and sunitinib NPs was evaluated on A549 cells by MTT assay. Dry powders were obtained from sunitinib NPs after spray drying. The obtained powders were then evaluated for median mass aerodynamic diameter (MMAD), fine particle fraction (FPF) and geometric standard deviation (GSD) using Anderson Cascade Impactor. The optimized NPs were comprised of spherical particles with a mean size of 167.80 ± 0.30 nm, EE of 93.25 ± 0.03%, zeta potential of −1.37 ± 0.24 mV, drug release efficiency of about 56.25 ± 0.10% during 24 h and PdI of 0.29 ± 1.09. MTT assay revealed that sunitinib kept its pharmacological activity, once it was loaded in PHBV NPs. Among all the powders prepared, powder prepared using 2% mannitol at inlet air temperature of 160° showed desirable deposition pattern in term of MMAD (3.38 ± 0.06 μm), FPF (61.18 ± 0.04%), and process yield (48.01 ± 0.77%). In conclusion, this formulated inhalable powder might be promising medication for local therapy of lung cancer.