Development, characterization and evaluation of doxorubicin nanostructured lipid carriers for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an optimised formulation for a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) loaded with doxorubicin. METHODS: A doxorubicin-loaded NLC was prepared using an emulsification solidification method. The Box-Behnken design response surface methodology was used to optimise formulations of the doxorubicin-loaded NLC. RESULTS: The drug entrapment efficiency, drug loading efficiency, particle size, and zeta potential of the doxorubicin- loaded NLC were 74.18%, 13.28%, 170 nm, and -14.8 mV, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy of the optimised NLC showed spherical particles. Furthermore, the doxorubicin-loaded NLC was found to exhibit good therapeutic efficacy with remarkably improved oral bioavailability of doxorubicin. CONCLUSION: The NLC system demonstrated potential for the targeted delivery of doxorubicin in prostate cancer.