Cytotoxic effect of transdermal invasomal anastrozole gel on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line

Abstract

Introduction: Anastrozole is an anti-cancer drug, an effective aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women. As it undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism and has many side effects related to oral use, it has been envisaged to develop anastrozole invasomes in the form of transdermal gel. Objective: The objective of this work was to prepare, characterize, and evaluate invasomal gel of anastrozole. Materials and Methods: Invasomes were prepared by thin layer film hydration method using Phospholipon 80H, fenchone (terpene), and ethanol. The optimized invasomes were incorporated into sodium carboxy methyl cellulose gel. Prepared formulations were evaluated and cytotoxic study on Michigan cancer foundation (MCF)-7 cancer cell line was studied. Results and Discussion: The scanning electron microscope results of the optimized formulation showed spherical shaped vesicles.The ex vivo permeation of invasomes and the skin deposition (73%) were studied on male Wistar rat skin. Cell line studies on MCF-7 cells showed cytotoxic effect of optimized formulation at 5 μl/ml. Conclusion: It was concluded that the developed anastrozole invasomes enhanced the transdermal flux and the results obtained encouraged the use of the anastrozole invasomal gel for the potential treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women.