Isabella Orienti

Fenretinide is a vitamin A derivative endowed with high antitumor activity and no side effects.

In spite of its favorable pharmacologic profile, its clinical use is still prevented by its very low aqueous solubility which limits bioavailability under the threshold of therapeutic response.

To increase Fenretinide bioavailability different Fen-Nano-Complexes are designed, prepared and analyzed. The Fen-Nano-Complexes are prepared by use of different self-assembling macromolecules, polymer, ionic lipids etc. The Fen-Nano-Complexes are characterized by dynamic light scattering and microscopy. Their ability to improve Fenretinide bioavailability is evaluated by solubility studies and cytotoxicity tests in cell lines of different tumor types.

-y.