Abstract
Osimertinib (OB) is a third-generation irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer. Systemic administration of drug often results in poor drug levels at the primary tumor in the lungs and is associated with systemic side effects. In this study, we developed inhalable OB liposomes that can locally accumulate at the tumor site thereby limiting systemic toxicity. OB was loaded into liposomes via active and passive loading methods. The OB active liposomes achieved a higher encapsulation (78%) compared to passive liposomes (25%). The liposomes (passive and active) exhibited excellent aerosolization performance with an aerodynamic diameter of 4 µm and fine particle fraction of 82%. In H1975 cells, OB active and passive liposomes reduced IC50 by 2.2 and 1.2-fold, respectively, compared to free drug. As the OB active liposomes demonstrated higher cytotoxicity compared to OB passive liposomes, they were further investigated for in vitro anti-cancer activity. The OB active liposomes inhibited tumor cell migration and colonization as determined by the scratch assay and clonogenic assay, respectively. Furthermore, the 3D spheroid studies showed that the liposomes were successful in inhibiting tumor growth. These results highlight the potential of OB liposomes to suppress lung cancer. Owing to these attributes, the inhalable OB liposomes can potentially promote better therapeutic outcomes with limited systemic toxicity.
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Data availability
Any datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The author(s) would like to acknowledge the Imaging Facility of CUNY Advanced Science Research Centre for instrument use and technical assistance in acquiring TEM images. Figures 1, 2, and 4, Table 2, and parts of methods (3.2, 3.3.1, and 3.4) are reproduced with permission from Respiratory Drug Delivery 2021, RDD Online, ISBN: 978–1-942,911–55-5. Original Reference: Formulation Development of Inhalable Osimertinib Liposomes for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Sawant et al. Respiratory Drug Delivery 2021.Volume 1, 2021: 265–270. Editors: Richard N. Dalby, Joanne Peart, Julie D. Suman, Paul M. Young, Daniela Traini. Publisher: Davis Healthcare International, River Grove, IL, USA.
Funding
This study was supported by start-up funds provided to NKK by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (CPHS), St. John’s University. SMP was supported by teaching assistantships from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, CPHS, St. John’s University.
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Conceptualization, supervision, funding acquisition, project administration, N.K.K.; resources, N.K.K. and V.G.; methodology, software, validation, investigation, visualization, N.K.K., S.S.S., S.M.P.; formal analysis, N.K.K., S.S.S., N.S.K., S.M.P.; data curation, N.K.K., S.S.S., S.M.P., N.S.K.; writing – original draft preparation, N.K.K., S.S.S;. writing – review and editing, N.K.K., S.S.S., S.K.S., S.M.P., N.S.K., V.G.
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Sawant, S.S., Patil, S.M., Shukla, S.K. et al. Pulmonary delivery of osimertinib liposomes for non-small cell lung cancer treatment: formulation development and in vitro evaluation. Drug Deliv. and Transl. Res. 12, 2474–2487 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-021-01088-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13346-021-01088-0