CIRCULATING CARRIER ERYTHROCYTES - SLOW-RELEASE VEHICLE FOR AN ANTI-LEUKEMIC DRUG, CYTOSINE-ARABINOSIDE

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 43  (12) , 2210-2212
Abstract
The human anticancer drug cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) was encapsulated in canine erythrocytes. When these autologous carrier cells were injected into dogs, the drug was slowly released into plasma. Erythrocyte encapsulation increased the plasma half-life of ara-C in dogs .apprx. 50-fold over that of the injected free drug. The whole blood half-life of encapsulated drug was 4.6 days; the elimination constant was 0.150 day-1. Erythrocyte encapsulation holds promise as a drug-delivering technique for treatment of some human and animal diseases, particularly with drugs that are highly toxic or have a normally short biological half-life. It also could be used to sustain given concentrations of drugs.