Determination of the external contamination and cross-contamination by cytotoxic drugs on the surfaces of vials available on the Swiss market.

Introduction: The external contamination and cross-contamination by cytotoxic drugs on the surface (outside and septum) of 133 vials from various manufacturers and available on the Swiss market were evaluated. All of the tested vials contained one of the following active ingredients: cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, doxorubicin, epirubicin, etoposide phosphate, gemcitabine, ifosfamide, irinotecan, methotrexate or vincristine.

Methods And Materials: The validated wiping liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method used in this study allowed for the simultaneous determination of these 10 cytotoxic drugs in less than 30 min.

Quenching-induced deactivation of photosensitizer by nanoencapsulation to improve phototherapy of cancer.

Photodynamic therapy has emerged as a promising alternative to current cancer treatment. However, conventional photosensitizers have several limitations due to their unsuitable pharmaceutical formulations and lack of selectivity. Our strategy was to exploit the advantages of nanoparticles and the quenching-induced deactivation of the model photosensitizer hypericin to produce "activatable" drug delivery systems.