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Nanoparticle-based Drug Delivery / Chemotherapy-induced Cardiotoxicity and Mitigation · Journal article
Journal of Drug Targeting · September 5, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This is a preclinical proof-of-concept study demonstrating that a nasal nifedipine-loaded ufosome (NLU) formulation substantially improves drug bioavailability, cardiac tissue accumulation, and antioxidant performance in a doxorubicin-cardiotoxicity rat model compared to oral nifedipine. The work addresses a real clinical problem—doxorubicin cardiotoxicity—but remains at the formulation optimization and animal efficacy stage, without human data or formal clinical endpoints.
Preclinical pharmacokinetic and cardioprotection study in rat model. Rats with doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity; setting and eligibility criteria not specified.. Intervention: Nasal nifedipine-loaded ufosome (NLU) spray formulation. Compared with: Free nifedipine suspension and conventional oral nifedipine administration.
Nasal NLU amplified mucosal permeability by 69.07% and 6.47-fold compared to free nifedipine suspension Nasal NLU achieved 7.33-fold enhancement in bioavailability versus conventional oral nifedipine administration Nasal NLU formulation produced 5.40-fold increase in cardiac tissue accumulation compared to oral nifedipine
Rat model only; efficacy and safety in humans not evaluated Specific cardiotoxicity endpoints (e.g., cardiac function, ejection fraction, troponin) and safety parameters not reported
This formulation strategy is not ready for clinical use. Clinicians should note this as exploratory work addressing a genuine unmet need (doxorubicin cardiotoxicity mitigation), but translation to human trials and clinical efficacy endpoints would be required before any therapeutic recommendation.
Early-stage preclinical study in an animal model demonstrating formulation optimization and proof-of-concept for a nanocarrier delivery strategy; lacks human efficacy data and clinical outcomes.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
This formulation strategy is not ready for clinical use. Clinicians should note this as exploratory work addressing a genuine unmet need (doxorubicin cardiotoxicity mitigation), but translation to human trials and clinical efficacy endpoints would be required before any therapeutic recommendation.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
The cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin significantly restricts its effectiveness, even though it remains a crucial element of breast cancer chemotherapy. Nifedipine (NFP) offers multi-mechanistic therapeutic benefits, including vasodilation, anti-proliferative activities, suppression of cellular apoptosis, and potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the translation of oral NFP into an effective cardioprotective adjuvant is hindered by its poor solubility, first-pass hepatic metabolism, and poor bioavailability. Hence, this study aimed to develop a nasal NFP-loaded ufasomes (NLU) spray formulation to enhance the permeation, bioavailability, sustained release, and cardiac accumulation of NFP when co-administered with doxorubicin. Various NLU formulations were developed and optimized employing Design-Expert® software. The in vivo cardioprotective efficacy of the nasal NLU was comprehensively evaluated in a doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity rat model. The optimal NLU substantially prolonged drug sustainability and amplified mucosal permeability by 69.07% and 6.47-fold, respectively, compared to the free NFP suspension. Furthermore, nasal NLU formulation achieved a remarkable 7.33-fold enhancement in bioavailability and a 5.40-fold increase in cardiac tissue accumulation when contrasted with conventional oral NFP administration. Furthermore, the nasal NLU spray exhibited superior cardioprotective and antioxidant performance over the oral NFP. In conclusion, these findings establish the nasal NLU formulation as a promising therapeutic platform to mitigate doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.