Chitin/cisplatin--an adhesive anticancer drug

The authors devised an adhesive anticancer drug delivery system using 70% deacetyalated chitin (DAC-70) and cisplatin (CDDP). We prepared two different types of the drug carriers; namely, DAC-70 viscous solution and DAC-70 lyophilized granules, which easily provided viscous solution when mixed with a liquid. We then formed a novel CDDP-loaded system by mixing each vehicle with CDDP solution. Each product showed a stronger tissue-adhesive force at 37 degrees C than that of 25 degrees C. More than 90% of total CDDP was released from the system within 24 hours. A large amount of the CDDP released from the system revealed it to be free CDDP when the DAC granule was used as the carrier, while the amount of free CDDP was less than 20% in the case of the DAC viscous solution. When the DAC-CDDP solution was given into the peritoneal cavity of rats, the CDDP remained there and only a little was transferred into the peripheral blood. We could also provide loco-regional pleurodesis by injecting the novel solution into the rat pleural cavity. These data suggest that our newly devised system has a great potential in cancer chemotherapy for the patients with malignant pleural effusion and ascites.