Exemestane Delivery Via Polymeric Micellar-Folic Acid Triggered Nanoparticles For Amelioration In Breast Cancer Therapy: Design, Optimization And Evaluation Studies

The objective of the work was to develop folic acid conjugated nano-micelle as targeted and promising drug delivery for exemestane in breast cancer management. Folic acid was conjugated with poloxamer-338, then nano-micelles containing exemestane were prepared employing thin-film hydration method. Optimization was carried out utilizing Box-Behnken design using stirring speed, stirring time and hydration temperature as independent variables. Results of the optimized batch for Particle Size, PDI, Zeta Potential, and % EE was found to be 180.13nm, 0.648, -12.90mV, and 85.65%, respectively. Drug release of Exemestane from nano-micelle was found to be 83.16% and 89.6% after 24h in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and 0.5%w/v SLS, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity studies exhibited enhanced efficacy of the nano-micelles. Results of stability studies exhibited no remarkable changes indicating a stable formulation. Overall, the present study demonstrates folic acid conjugated polymeric nano-micelles as a promising nanocarrier to enhance the efficiency of exemestane for the breast-cancer therapy.