{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T08:36:17Z","timestamp":1788510977926,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,6]],"date-time":"2020-12-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1607212800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study was performed to develop an adjuvant therapy in the form of a self-administered vaginal tablet regimen for the localized delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. This therapy will help to reduce relapse by eradicating cancerous cells in the margin of cervical tumors. The vaginal tablet is a very common formulation that is easy to manufacture, easy to place in the vagina, and has a low cost of manufacture, making them ideal for use in developing countries. A combination of disulfiram and 5-fluorouracil, which are both off-patent drugs and provide different modes of action, were evaluated. The tablets developed were evaluated for weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, swelling index, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), particle morphology, in vitro drug release, and cytotoxicity on Ca-Ski cells. Both layers were designed to release both drugs concurrently for a synergistic effect. The polymer\u2013polymer interaction between the layers was able to reduce the loss of formulation due to chitosan. While the bilayer tablet had satisfactory performance in the physicochemical tests, in vitro cell culture with Ca-Ski also showed a synergistic effect using a combination of drugs at a low dose. However, the formulation only had 24-h dose release before degradation. Further drug combinations should be evaluated in subsequent studies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics12121185","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,10]],"date-time":"2020-12-10T20:18:22Z","timestamp":1607631502000},"page":"1185","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["A Bilayer Vaginal Tablet for the Localized Delivery of Disulfiram and 5-Fluorouracil to the Cervix"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2912-4210","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ismin Zainol","family":"Abidin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Materials Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emanuele","family":"Rezoagli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"},{"name":"Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan-Bicocca, 1\u201320126 Monza, Italy"},{"name":"Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at C\u00daRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bianca","family":"Simonassi-Paiva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gustavo Waltzer","family":"Fehrenbach","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8254-2257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kevin","family":"Masterson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Pogue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"},{"name":"Post-Graduate Program in Genomic Sciences and Biotechnology, Catholic University of Brasilia, Brasilia 70790-160, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Materials Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1228-3733","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Neil","family":"Rowan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emma J.","family":"Murphy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioscience Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0538-9786","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ian","family":"Major","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Materials Research Institute, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, N37 HD68 Athlone, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1080\/03639045.2017.1386203","article-title":"Mucoadhesive tablets for the vaginal delivery of progesterone: In vitro evaluation and pharmacokinetics\/pharmacodynamics in female rabbits","volume":"44","author":"Hassan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Drug Dev. 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