Solubilization of flurbiprofen into aptamer-modified PEG-PLA micelles for targeted delivery to brain-derived endothelial cells in vitro

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Microencapsulation

Abstract

Novel aptamer-functionalized polyethylene glycol-polylactic acid (PEG-PLA) (APP) micelles were developed with the objective to target the transferrin receptor on brain endothelial cells. Flurbiprofen, a potential drug for therapeutic management of Alzheimer's disease (AD), was loaded into the APP micelles using the co-solvent evaporation method. Results indicated that 9.03% (w/w) of flurbiprofen was entrapped in APP with good retention capacity in vitro. Targeting potential of APPs was investigated using the transferring receptor-expressing murine brain endothelial bEND5 cell line. APPs significantly enhanced surface association of micelles to bEND5 cells as quantified by fluorescence spectroscopy. Most importantly, APPs significantly enhanced intracellular flurbiprofen delivery when compared to unmodified micelles. These results suggest that APP micelles may offer an effective strategy to deliver therapeutically effective flurbiprofen concentrations into the brain for AD patients. © 2013 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved.

First Page

701

Last Page

708

DOI

10.3109/02652048.2013.778907

Publication Date

10-16-2013

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS