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Andreadis II, Schulzen A, Quodbach J, Bergström CAS. Exploring the use of modified in vitro digestion assays for the evaluation of ritonavir loaded solid lipid-based formulations. Eur J Pharm Sci 2023; 189:106524. [PMID: 37433412 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2023.106524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
Solid lipid-based formulations (sLBFs) have the potential to increase the oral bioavailability of drugs with poor solubility in water, while counteracting some of the disadvantages of liquid LBFs. The most common experimental set-up to study the performance of LBFs in vitro is the lipolysis assay, during which the LBFs are digested by lipases in an environment mimicking the human small intestine. However, this assay has failed in many cases to correctly predict the performance of LBFs in vivo, highlighting the need for new and improved in vitro assays to evaluate LBFs at the preclinical stage. In this study, the suitability of three different in vitro digestion assays for the evaluation of sLBFs was assessed; the classic one-step intestinal digestion assay, a two-step gastrointestinal digestion assay and a bicompartmental assay permitting the simultaneous monitoring of digestion and permeation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) across an artificial membrane (Lecithin in Dodecane - LiDo). Three sLBFs (M1-M3) with varied composition and ritonavir as model drug were prepared and examined. When comparing the ability of these formulations to keep the drug solubilized in the aqueous phase, all three assays show that M1 performs better, while M3 presents poor performance. However, the classic in vitro intestinal digestion assay fails to provide a clear ranking of the three formulations, something that is more evident when using the two modified and more physiologically relevant assays. Also, the two modified assays provide additional information about the performance of the formulations including the performance in the gastric environment and intestinal flux of the drug. These modified in vitro digestion assays are valuable tools for the development and evaluation of sLBFs to make better informed decisions of which formulations to pursue for in vivo studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis I Andreadis
- Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 580, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden; Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Arne Schulzen
- Institute of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstraße 1, DE-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Julian Quodbach
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Christel A S Bergström
- Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 580, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden; The Swedish Drug Delivery Center, Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 580, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden.
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2
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Reppas C, Kuentz M, Bauer-Brandl A, Carlert S, Dallmann A, Dietrich S, Dressman J, Ejskjaer L, Frechen S, Guidetti M, Holm R, Holzem FL, Karlsson Ε, Kostewicz E, Panbachi S, Paulus F, Senniksen MB, Stillhart C, Turner DB, Vertzoni M, Vrenken P, Zöller L, Griffin BT, O'Dwyer PJ. Leveraging the use of in vitro and computational methods to support the development of enabling oral drug products: An InPharma commentary. Eur J Pharm Sci 2023; 188:106505. [PMID: 37343604 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2023.106505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Due to the strong tendency towards poorly soluble drugs in modern development pipelines, enabling drug formulations such as amorphous solid dispersions, cyclodextrins, co-crystals and lipid-based formulations are frequently applied to solubilize or generate supersaturation in gastrointestinal fluids, thus enhancing oral drug absorption. Although many innovative in vitro and in silico tools have been introduced in recent years to aid development of enabling formulations, significant knowledge gaps still exist with respect to how best to implement them. As a result, the development strategy for enabling formulations varies considerably within the industry and many elements of empiricism remain. The InPharma network aims to advance a mechanistic, animal-free approach to the assessment of drug developability. This commentary focuses current status and next steps that will be taken in InPharma to identify and fully utilize 'best practice' in vitro and in silico tools for use in physiologically based biopharmaceutic models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christos Reppas
- Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Martin Kuentz
- School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Muttenz CH 4132, Switzerland
| | - Annette Bauer-Brandl
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark
| | | | - André Dallmann
- Pharmacometrics/Modeling and Simulation, Research and Development, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Shirin Dietrich
- Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Jennifer Dressman
- Fraunhofer Institute of Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Lotte Ejskjaer
- School of Pharmacy, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Sebastian Frechen
- Pharmacometrics/Modeling and Simulation, Research and Development, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Matteo Guidetti
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark; Solvias AG, Department for Solid-State Development, Römerpark 2, 4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland
| | - René Holm
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark
| | - Florentin Lukas Holzem
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark; Pharmaceutical R&D, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Edmund Kostewicz
- Fraunhofer Institute of Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Shaida Panbachi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Muttenz CH 4132, Switzerland
| | - Felix Paulus
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark
| | - Malte Bøgh Senniksen
- Fraunhofer Institute of Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Pharmaceutical R&D, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Cordula Stillhart
- Pharmaceutical R&D, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Maria Vertzoni
- Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Paul Vrenken
- Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece; Pharmacometrics/Modeling and Simulation, Research and Development, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
| | - Laurin Zöller
- AstraZeneca R&D, Gothenburg, Sweden; Fraunhofer Institute of Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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3
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Jacobsen AC, Visentin S, Butnarasu C, Stein PC, di Cagno MP. Commercially Available Cell-Free Permeability Tests for Industrial Drug Development: Increased Sustainability through Reduction of In Vivo Studies. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15020592. [PMID: 36839914 PMCID: PMC9964961 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Replacing in vivo with in vitro studies can increase sustainability in the development of medicines. This principle has already been applied in the biowaiver approach based on the biopharmaceutical classification system, BCS. A biowaiver is a regulatory process in which a drug is approved based on evidence of in vitro equivalence, i.e., a dissolution test, rather than on in vivo bioequivalence. Currently biowaivers can only be granted for highly water-soluble drugs, i.e., BCS class I/III drugs. When evaluating poorly soluble drugs, i.e., BCS class II/IV drugs, in vitro dissolution testing has proved to be inadequate for predicting in vivo drug performance due to the lack of permeability interpretation. The aim of this review was to provide solid proofs that at least two commercially available cell-free in vitro assays, namely, the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay, PAMPA, and the PermeaPad® assay, PermeaPad, in different formats and set-ups, have the potential to reduce and replace in vivo testing to some extent, thus increasing sustainability in drug development. Based on the literature review presented here, we suggest that these assays should be implemented as alternatives to (1) more energy-intense in vitro methods, e.g., refining/replacing cell-based permeability assays, and (2) in vivo studies, e.g., reducing the number of pharmacokinetic studies conducted on animals and humans. For this to happen, a new and modern legislative framework for drug approval is required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Christin Jacobsen
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Sonja Visentin
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Cosmin Butnarasu
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Paul C. Stein
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Massimiliano Pio di Cagno
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands Vei 3, 0371 Oslo, Norway
- Correspondence:
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4
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Timur B, Usta DY, Teksin ZS. Investigation of the effect of colloidal structures formed during lipolysis of lipid-based formulation on exemestane permeability using the in vitro lipolysis-permeation model. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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5
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Hedge O, Höök F, Joyce P, Bergström CAS. Investigation of Self-Emulsifying Drug-Delivery System Interaction with a Biomimetic Membrane under Conditions Relevant to the Small Intestine. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:10200-10213. [PMID: 34379976 PMCID: PMC8388123 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Self-emulsifying drug-delivery systems (SEDDS) have been extensively shown to increase oral absorption of solvation-limited compounds. However, there has been little clinical and commercial use of these formulations, in large part because the demonstrated advantages of SEDDS have been outweighed by our inability to precisely predict drug absorption from SEDDS using current in vitro assays. To overcome this limitation and increase the biological relevancy of in vitro assays, an absorption function can be incorporated using biomimetic membranes. However, the effects that SEDDS have on the integrity of a biomimetic membrane are not known. In this study, a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy were employed as complementary methods to in vitro lipolysis-permeation assays to characterize the interaction of various actively digested SEDDS with a liquescent artificial membrane comprising lecithin in dodecane (LiDo). Observations from surface analysis showed that interactions between the digesting SEDDS and LiDo membrane coincided with inflection points in the digestion profiles. Importantly, no indications of membrane damage could be observed, which was supported by flux profiles of the lipophilic model drug felodipine (FEL) and impermeable marker Lucifer yellow on the basal side of the membrane. There was a correlation between the digestion kinetics of the SEDDS and the flux of FEL, but no clear correlation between solubilization and absorption profiles. Membrane interactions were dependent on the composition of lipids within each SEDDS, with the more digestible lipids leading to more pronounced interactions, but in all cases, the integrity of the membrane was maintained. These insights demonstrate that LiDo membranes are compatible with in vitro lipolysis assays for improving predictions of drug absorption from lipid-based formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver
J. Hedge
- Department
of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Höök
- Division
of Nano and Biophysics, Department of Physics, Chalmers Technical University, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Paul Joyce
- Division
of Nano and Biophysics, Department of Physics, Chalmers Technical University, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
- UniSA
Clinical & Health Sciences, University
of South Australia, 5090 Adelaide, Australia
- ARC
Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, University of South Australia, 5090 Adelaide, Australia
| | - Christel A. S. Bergström
- Department
of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- The
Swedish Drug Delivery Center, Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 751
23 Uppsala, Sweden
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6
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Šoltys M, Zůza D, Boleslavská T, Machač Akhlasová S, Balouch M, Kovačík P, Beránek J, Škalko-Basnet N, Flaten GE, Štěpánek F. Drug loading to mesoporous silica carriers by solvent evaporation: A comparative study of amorphization capacity and release kinetics. Int J Pharm 2021; 607:120982. [PMID: 34371148 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The sorption of poorly aqueous soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to mesoporous silica carriers is an increasingly common formulation strategy for dissolution rate enhancement for this challenging group of substances. However, the success of this approach for a particular API depends on an array of factors including the properties of the porous carrier, the loading method, or the attempted mass fraction of the API. At present, there is no established methodology for the rational selection of these parameters. In the present work, we report a systematic comparison of four well-characterised silica carriers and seven APIs loaded by the same solvent evaporation method. In each case, we find the maximum amorphization capacity by x-ray powder diffraction analysis and measure the in vitro drug release kinetics. For a selected case, we also demonstrate the potential for bioavailability enhancement by a permeation essay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Šoltys
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic; Department of Pharmacy, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
| | - David Zůza
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Tereza Boleslavská
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
| | - Sarah Machač Akhlasová
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Balouch
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Kovačík
- Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Beránek
- Zentiva, k.s., U Kabelovny 130, 102 00 Praha 10, Czech Republic
| | | | | | - František Štěpánek
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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7
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Tanaka Y, Nguyen TH, Suys EJA, Porter CJH. Digestion of Lipid-Based Formulations Not Only Mediates Changes to Absorption of Poorly Soluble Drugs Due to Differences in Solubilization But Also Reflects Changes to Thermodynamic Activity and Permeability. Mol Pharm 2021; 18:1768-1778. [PMID: 33729806 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.1c00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lipid digestion on the permeability and absorption of orally administered saquinavir (SQV), a biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class IV drug, in different lipid-based formulations. Three LBFs were prepared: a mixed short- and medium-chain lipid-based formulation (SMCF), a medium-chain lipid-based formulation (MCF), and a long-chain lipid-based formulation (LCF). SQV was loaded into these LBFs at 26.7 mg/g. To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of SQV in vivo, drug-loaded formulations were predispersed in purified water at 3% w/w and orally administered to rats. A low dose (0.8 mg/rat) was employed to limit confounding effects on drug solubilization, and consistent with this design, presolubilization of SQV in the LBFs did not increase in vivo exposure compared to a control suspension formulation. The areas under the plasma concentration-time curve were, however, significantly lower after administration of SQV as MCF and LCF compared to SMCF. To evaluate the key mechanisms underpinning absorption, each LBF containing SQV was digested, and the flux of SQV from the digests across a dialysis membrane was evaluated in in vitro permeation experiments. This study revealed that the absorption profiles were driven by the free concentration of SQV and that this varied due to differences in SQV solubilization in the digestion products generated by LBF digestion. The apparent first-order permeation rate constants of SQV (kapp,total) were estimated by dividing the flux of SQV in the dialysis membrane experiments by the concentration of total SQV on the donor side. kapp,total values strongly correlated with in vivo AUC. The data provide one of the first studies of the effect of digestion products on the free concentration of a drug in the GI fluid and oral absorption. This simple permeation model may be a useful tool for the evaluation of the impact of lipid digestion on apparent drug permeability from lipid-based formulations. These effects should be assessed alongside, and in addition to, the more well-known effects of lipids on enhancing intestinal solubilization of poorly water-soluble drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Tanaka
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hiroshima International University, 5-1-1 Hiro-koshingai, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0112, Japan
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