Toxicological study of doxorubicin‐loaded PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment of glioblastoma

Doxorubicin loaded in poloxamer 188-coated PLGA nanoparticles (Dox-NP + P188) was shown to produce a high antitumor effect against the experimental orthotopic 101.8 glioblastoma in rats upon intravenous administration. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the acute and chronic toxicity of this nanoformulation. The parent drug was used as a reference formulation. Acute toxicity of doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles in mice and rats was similar to that of free doxorubicin. The chronic toxicity study was conducted in Chinchilla rabbits; the treatment regimen consisted of 30 daily intravenous injections using two dosage levels: 0.22 mg/kg/day and 0.15 mg/kg/day. The study included assessment of the body weight, hematological parameters, blood biochemical parameters, urinalysis, and pathomorphological evaluation of the internal organs. The results of the study demonstrated that the hematological, cardiac, and testicular toxicity of doxorubicin could be reduced by binding the drug to PLGA nanoparticles. Coating of PLGA nanoparticles with poloxamer 188 contributed to the reduction of cardiotoxicity. Functional and morphological abnormalities caused by the nanoparticulate doxorubicin were dose-dependent and reversible. Altogether these results provide evidence that the PLGA-based nanoformulation not only might enable the broadening of the spectrum of doxorubicin activity but also an improvement of its safety profile.