Table 1.
Types of Most Used Drug Delivery Systems Containing Taxanes and Their Characteristics
| Nanoparticle | Composition | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Liposome | Spherical formed vesicles which consist of phospholipid bilayers | 50-400 nm |
| Water soluble | ||
| Biodegradable | ||
| Use of EPR effect | ||
| Modifiable surface | ||
| Actively targeting by surface modification | ||
| Protection of the payload | ||
| Formed out of lipids | ||
| Amphiphile | ||
| Possibility to form multilamilarity | ||
| Prolonged systemic exposure | ||
| Rapid clearance by RES (if not pegylated) | ||
| Potency to modify drug resistance | ||
| Possible immune reactions | ||
| Limited stability | ||
| Difficulties in drug loading | ||
| Micelle | Spherical formed drug delivery system with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell | 10-100 nm |
| Water soluble | ||
| Biodegradable | ||
| Use of EPR effect | ||
| Modifiable surface | ||
| Actively targeting by surface modification | ||
| Protection of the payload | ||
| Formed out of polymers or lipids | ||
| Prolonged systemic exposure | ||
| Small uptake by RES | ||
| Initial burst of drug release | ||
| Highly permeable shell | ||
| Low sustained controlled drug release | ||
| Low immunogenicity | ||
| Polymeric Nanoparticle | Matrix of polymers which binds drugs to a side chain of a polymer with a linker | 10-1000 nm |
| Water soluble | ||
| Biodegradable | ||
| Use of EPR effect | ||
| Modifiable surface | ||
| Actively targeting by surface modification | ||
| Protection of the payload | ||
| Formed out of synthetic or natural polymers | ||
| Variety of composition possibilities | ||
| (ie, wide variation in polymers and copolymers) | ||
| Possibility to form double walled particles | ||
| Prolonged systemic exposure | ||
| Initial burst of drug release | ||
| Sustained controlled drug release | ||
| Low immunogenicity | ||
| Stable during storage |