Preparation and characterization of solid lipid nanospheres containing paclitaxel

The study describes the development of stealth and non-stealth solid lipid nanospheres (SLNs) as colloidal carriers for paclitaxel, a drug with very l ow solubility. SLNs are constituted mainly of bioacceptable and biodegradab le lipids, such as tripalmitin and phosphatidylcholine, and can incorporate amounts of paclitaxel up to 2.8%. Stealth and non-stealth loaded SLNs are in the nanometer size range and can be sterilized and freeze-dried. Thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry) showed that paclitaxel is not able to crystallize in the SLNs. Release of paclitaxel from SLNs is very l ow. Non-stealth and stealth SLNs are stable over time without precipitation of paclitaxel and can be proposed for its parenteral administration. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.