Application of ethyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose and octadecanol for wax based floating solid dispersion pellets

Eco-Friendly Lithium Separators: A Frontier Exploration of Cellulose-Based Materials

Lithium-ion batteries, as an excellent energy storage solution, require continuous innovation in component design to enhance safety and performance. In this review, we delve into the field of eco-friendly lithium-ion battery separators, focusing on the potential of cellulose-based materials as sustainable alternatives to traditional polyolefin separators. Our analysis shows that cellulose materials, with their inherent degradability and renewability, can provide exceptional thermal stability, electrolyte absorption capability, and economic feasibility. We systematically classify and analyze the latest advancements in cellulose-based battery separators, highlighting the critical role of their superior hydrophilicity and mechanical strength in improving ion transport efficiency and reducing internal short circuits. The novelty of this review lies in the comprehensive evaluation of synthesis methods and cost-effectiveness of cellulose-based separators, addressing significant knowledge gaps in the existing literature. We explore production processes and their scalability in detail, and propose innovative modification strategies such as chemical functionalization and nanocomposite integration to significantly enhance separator performance metrics. Our forward-looking discussion predicts the development trajectory of cellulose-based separators, identifying key areas for future research to overcome current challenges and accelerate the commercialization of these green technologies. Looking ahead, cellulose-based separators not only have the potential to meet but also to exceed the benchmarks set by traditional materials, providing compelling solutions for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.

Characterization and pharmacokinetics of cinnamon and star anise compound essential oil pellets prepared via centrifugal granulation technology

Cinnamon and star anise essential oils are extracted from natural plants and provide a theoretical basis for the development and clinical application of compound essential oil pellets. However, cinnamon oil and star anise oil have the characteristics of a pungent taste, extreme volatility, poor palatability, and unstable physical and chemical properties, which limit their clinical use in veterinary medicine. In this study, the inhibitory effects of cinnamon oil and star anise oil on Escherichia coli and Salmonella were measured. Compound essential oil pellets were successfully prepared by centrifugal granulation technology. Subsequently, the in vitro dissolution of the pellets and their pharmacokinetics in pigs were investigated. The results showd that, cinnamon and star anise oils showed synergistic or additive inhibitiory effects on Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The oil pellets had enteric characteristics in vitro and high dissolution in vitro. The pharmacokinetic results showed that the pharmacokinetic parameters Cmax and AUC were directly correlated with the dosage and showed linear pharmacokinetic characteristics, which provided a theoretical basis for the development and clinical application of compound essential oil pellets.

Developing and scaling up captopril-loaded electrospun ethyl cellulose fibers for sustained-release floating drug delivery

In this work ethyl cellulose (EC) was used as the matrix polymer and loaded with captopril, with the goal to fabricate electrospun fibers as potential sustained-release floating gastro-retentive drug delivery systems. Fibers were prepared with monoaxial and coaxial electrospinning, and both bench-top and scaled-up (needle-based) methods were explored. With monoaxial electrospinning, EC-based fibers in the shape of cylinders and with smooth surfaces were obtained both at 1 and 20 mL/h. For coaxial electrospinning, the drug was encapsulated in the core end fibers generated with core/shell feeding rates of 0.5/1 and 5/10 mL/h. The fibers were cylindrical in shape with a wrinkled surface, and confocal microscopy suggested them to have a core/shell structure. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry results showed that all the fibers were amorphous. The encapsulation efficiency of all the formulations was almost 100%. Release studies in simulated gastric fluid indicated that the monoaxial electrospun fibers gave slower release profiles compared with a physical mixture of captopril and EC, but there was still an initial "burst" of release at the start of the experiment. Fibers with low drug-loading (9.09% w/w) showed a slower release than fibers with high loading (23.08% w/w). The coaxial fibers exhibited sustained release profiles with reduced initial burst release. Both monoaxial and coaxial fibers could float on the surface of simulated gastric fluid for over 24 hours at 37 °C. After storage under ambient conditions (19-21°C, relative humidity 30-40%) for 8 weeks, all the fibers remained amorphous and the release profiles had no significant changes compared with fresh fibers. This work thus highlights the potential of coaxial electrospinning for fabricating a sustained-release floating gastro-retentive drug delivery system for captopril.

Solid dispersion technology as a formulation strategy for the fabrication of modified release dosage forms: A comprehensive review

Solubility limited bioavailability is one of the crucial parameters that affect the formulation development of the new chemical entities. Thus the major constraint in the pharmaceutical product development is the suitable solubility enhancement technique for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. Solid dispersion (SD) is an established and preferred method for improving the solubility which ultimately may be helpful to enhance bioavailability. For long period of time Amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) have been preferred for improving solubility, but since last two decades, ASD approach have been combined with different modified release approaches to improvise the stability and site specificity of SD to grasp a hold over the specific advantages associated with such dosage forms. It is an established fact now that the SD technique not only improves solubility limited bioavailability, but it may be combined with other approaches to modify the drug release profile from the formulation as per the requirement based on the apt selection of SD carriers and suitable technology. This review covers the comprehensive overview of all such formulations where SD technology is used to serve dual purpose rather than only the sole purpose of solubility enhancement. The SD approach has been successfully implemented for some of the poorly soluble herbal drugs and still there is a vast scope of advancement in that area. The current review will provide a broad outcome in the area of SD technology for modified release formulations along with the description of current status and future prospective of SD. The SD formed by dispersing drug within the conventional carrier to form ASD increases solubility, dissolution rate and bioavailability; whereas fourth generation hydrophobic carriers provide added advantage of controlled release (CR) or sustained release (SR) profile along with enhanced stability of SD. On the other frontier, pH dependant carriers enable the SD to achieve site specificity or delayed release (DR) profile.

Pharmaceutical amorphous solid dispersion: A review of manufacturing strategies

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) are popular for enhancing the solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Various approaches have been employed to produce ASDs and novel techniques are emerging. This review provides an updated overview of manufacturing techniques for preparing ASDs. As physical stability is a critical quality attribute for ASD, the impact of formulation, equipment, and process variables, together with the downstream processing on physical stability of ASDs have been discussed. Selection strategies are proposed to identify suitable manufacturing methods, which may aid in the development of ASDs with satisfactory physical stability.

Demonstration of Advanced Data Mining Tools for Optimization of Pellets Employing Modified Extrusion-pelletization Technique

Background:

The multi particulate drug delivery system is preferred due to its numerous advantages but the batch to batch consistency and to achieve desired physical properties are the major challenges in the formulation of such dosage form.

Objective:

The objective of the present study was to explore the concept of quality by design for the development of galantamine HBr controlled release pellets using a modified palletization technique.

Methods:

Compritol 888 and Ethocel were chosen as hydrophobic release retardants, while Avicel was chosen as pelletization aid. A compatibility study was conducted between the drug and excipients. Drug loaded extrudes were prepared by using a mixture of isopropyl alcohol, and dichloromethane. Before converting the wet extrudes into pellets, pregelatinized starch was sprinkled on them to improve the physical properties of the pellets. The pellets were characterized for size, shape, and flow. The critical evaluation parameter was the drug dissolution pattern in distilled water. The dissolution data were treated with advanced data mining techniques. The in-vivo profile was predicted employing pharmacokinetic parameters of the drug and in-vitro drug release data of optimized batch pellets.

Results:

The failure mode and effect analysis revealed that the amount of Compritol 888 ATO and Ethocel were the most critical formulation parameters. The results of FTIR and DSC revealed compatibility between the drug and the excipients. The spherical pellets exhibited good flow. The drug dissolution studies of the batches, prepared according to the central composite design, revealed modified drug release. Multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance were performed to identify statistically significant factors. Contour plots demonstrated the impact of the amount of Compritol 888 and ethyl cellulose. The Design-Expert software was used to identify optimized formulation. The predicted in-vivo plasma concentration-time profile revealed the modified drug release up to 12h.

Conclusions:

Compritol and Ethocel were able to retard the drug release up to 12 hrs in distilled water. The innovative finding of this study is the use of a dry binder (pregelatinized starch) to improve the characteristics of pellets. Other dry binders are expected to show a similar effect. The newer processing technique can be of use in the industry.

The preparation of lipid-based drug delivery system using melt extrusion

Melt extrusion of lipids is versatile with high applicability in the pharmaceutical industry. The formulations prepared can be easily customized depending on the requirements, and have the potential to open a window on personalized medicine.

Manufacturing strategies to develop amorphous solid dispersions: An overview

Since the past several decades, poor water solubility of existing and new drugs in the pipeline have remained a challenging issue for the pharmaceutical industry. Literature describes several approaches to improve the overall solubility, dissolution rate, and bioavailability of drugs with poor water solubility. Moreover, the development of amorphous solid dispersion (SD) using suitable polymers and methods have gained considerable importance in the recent past. In the present review, we attempt to discuss the important and industrially scalable thermal strategies for the development of amorphous SD. These include both solvent (spray drying and fluid bed processing) and fusion (hot melt extrusion and KinetiSol®) based techniques. The current review also provides insights into the thermodynamic properties of drugs, their polymer miscibility and solubility, and their molecular dynamics to develop stable and more efficient amorphous SD.

Premium ethylcellulose polymer based architectures at work in drug delivery

Premium ethylcellulose polymers are hydrophobic cellulose ether based biomaterials widely employed as biocompatible templates for the design of novel drug delivery systems. They are classified as United States Food and Drug Administration Generally-Recognized-As-Safe chemical substances and have been extensively utilized within the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries for over half a century. They have so far demonstrated the potential to modulate and improve the physiological performance of bioactives leading to the desired enhanced prophylactic and therapeutic outcomes. This review therefore presents a scholarly survey of inter-disciplinary developments focused on the functionalities of ethylcellulose polymers as biomaterials useful for the design of smart delivery architectures for relevant pharmacotherapeutic biomedical applications. Emphasis was placed on evaluating scientific resources related to recent advancements and future directions associated with its applications as delivery systems for drugs and biologics within the past decade thus complementing other specialized reviews showcasing the theme.

Systematic Scrutinisation of Vital Factors for Fabrication and Evaluation of PGS-MCC Based Drug Loaded Pellets by Extrusion Spheronization Technique

Objective:

The prime objective was to formulate pellet formulation incorporating a newer extrusion- pelletisation aid, Pregelatinised Starch (PGS) and to scrutinise the factors that can affect the quality of the pellets and to overcome the slower disintegration of Microcrystaline Cellulose (MCC).

Methods:

Pellets were prepared initially using PGS, MCC, water, ethanol, HPMC K 4 M and Febuxostat was employed as model drug. Optimisation of formulation was done by employing Quality by design (QbD) and Design of experiment (DoE) approach. Ratio of PGS and MCC, ratio of binder and spheronisation speed were selected as independent variables and disintegration time and % cumulative drug release as dependent variables. In vitro in vivo correlation of the optimised batch was carried out using Wagner nelson method. Incompatibility studies have indicated compatibility of drug and excipients.

Results:

From the experiments, it was proved that the batch comprising 3:1 ratio of PGS and MCC, 1:1 binder solution and 1500 speed yielded good pellets with decreased disintegration time and improved dissolution rate as compared to pure Febuxostat. IVIVC studies indicated one to one correlation between in vitro and in vivo parameters.

Conclusion:

Pellets with good quality, minimum disintegration time and improved dissolution of model drug were successfully prepared with maximum amount of PGS. Optimisation using QbD approach was worth fruitful that affected the quality of pellets.

Engineering of Nanofibrous Amorphous and Crystalline Solid Dispersions for Oral Drug Delivery

Poor aqueous solubility (<0.1 mg/mL) affects a significant number of drugs currently on the market or under development. Several formulation strategies including salt formation, particle size reduction, and solid dispersion approaches have been employed with varied success. In this review, we focus primarily on the emerging trends in the generation of amorphous and micro/nano-crystalline solid dispersions using electrospinning to improve the dissolution rate and in turn the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Electrospinning is a simple but versatile process that utilizes electrostatic forces to generate polymeric fibers and has been used for over 100 years to generate synthetic fibers. We discuss the various electrospinning studies and spinneret types that have been used to generate amorphous and crystalline solid dispersions.

One-Way Water Transport Fabrics Based on Roughness Gradient Structure with No Low Surface Energy Substances

Despite great recent progress in one-way water transport (OWT) fabrics, the development of these fabrics based on roughness gradient without low surface energy materials has yet to be achieved. In this work, we prepared OWT fabrics using five polymers with hydrophobic or hydrophilic groups by constructing a roughness gradient structure along the fabric thickness. Electrospraying was used to deposit a rough layer on fabric's single side. The surface energy gradient change across the fabric thickness derived from roughness gradient structure played a major part in determining the OWT performance. With the roughness gradient structure, even polymers with hydrophilic groups, such as polyacrylonitrile and polyamide 6, could become OWT fabrics. Besides, the layer deposited on the surface of the fabric showed no effects on the air permeability of the fabric. These novel results provided an opportunity for more polymers, especially for hydrophilic polymers, to be used to prepare OWT fabrics by designing a roughness gradient along the thickness of the fabric. The method would be applied in designing of OWT fabrics with high performance.