Diffusion of a freely water-soluble drug in aqueous enteric-coated pellets

Anti-counterfeiting protection, personalized medicines - Development of 2D identification methods using laser technology

Counterfeiting of the products for healing is as old as trading, and it is difficult to quantify the magnitude of the problem. It is known that substandard and/or falsified (SF) medicines are a growing global threat to health, and they cause serious social and economic damage. The EU has a strong legal framework for medicines, it is mandatory to meet the requirements of Directive 2011/62/EU. Serialisation prevents SF medicinal products from entering the legal distribution chain. The present study is an extension of the original idea and aims to develop a laser technology-based method to mark an individual traceable code on the surface of the tablet, which technology can also be used for marking personalized medicines. The method is based on the ablation of the upper layer of a double-layer, differently coloured coating. The 2D code should be formed without harming the functional layer, and anyone with a smartphone integrated with a camera should be able to authenticate these drugs with a suitable application. The present findings confirmed that KrF excimer laser and Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser are efficient and reliable for marking. These should be promising candidates for pharmaceutical companies that would like to have additional protection against drug counterfeiters.

Challenges of Dissolution Methods Development for Soft Gelatin Capsules

Recently, the development of soft gelatin capsules (SGCs) dosage forms has attracted a great deal of interest in the oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs. This is attributed to the increased number of poorly soluble drugs in the pipeline, and hence the challenges of finding innovative ways of developing bioavailable and stable dosage forms. Encapsulation of these drugs into SGCs is one of the approaches that is utilized to deliver the active ingredients to the systemic circulation to overcome certain formulation hurdles. Once formulated, encapsulated drugs in the form of SGCs require suitable in vitro dissolution test methods to ensure drug product quality and performance. This review focuses on challenges facing dissolution test method development for SGCs. A brief discussion of the physicochemical and formulation factors that affect the dissolution properties of SGCs will be highlighted. Likewise, the influence of cross-linking of gelatin on the dissolution properties of SGCs will also be discussed.

Bioactive protein fraction DLBS1033 containing lumbrokinase isolated from Lumbricus rubellus: ex vivo, in vivo, and pharmaceutic studies

DLBS1033 is a bioactive protein fraction isolated from Lumbricus rubellus that tends to be unstable when exposed to the gastrointestinal environment. Accordingly, appropriate pharmaceutical development is needed to maximize absorption of the protein fraction in the gastrointestinal tract. In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo stability assays were performed to study the stability of the bioactive protein fraction in gastric conditions. The bioactive protein fraction DLBS1033 was found to be unstable at low pH and in gastric fluid. The "enteric coating" formulation showed no leakage in gastric fluid-like medium and possessed a good release profile in simulated intestinal medium. DLBS1033 was absorbed through the small intestine in an intact protein form, confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE) analysis. This result confirmed that an enteric coating formula using methacrylic acid copolymer could protect DLBS1033 from the acidic condition of the stomach by preventing the release of DLBS1033 in the stomach, while promoting its release when reaching the intestine. From the blood concentration-versus-time curve, (99m)Tc-DLBS1033 showed a circulation half-life of 70 minutes. This relatively long biological half-life supports its function as a thrombolytic protein. Thus, an enteric delivery system is considered the best approach for DLBS1033 as an oral thrombolytic agent.

Formulation and Statistical Optimization of a Novel Crosslinked Polymeric Anti‐Tuberculosis Drug Delivery System

The crux of this research was the pragmatic investigation into the formulation of a reconstitutable multiparticulate anti-tuberculosis drug delivery system for facilitated administration for the attainment of segregated gastrointestinal (GI) delivery of rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) in order to address issues of unacceptable RIF bioavailability on coadministration with INH. Ionotropically crosslinked polymeric enterospheres for delivery of INH to the small intestine were developed via a response surface methodology for the design and optimization of the formulation and processing variables. A 3(4) Box-Behnken statistical design was constructed. The concentration of zinc sulfate salting-out and crosslinking electrolyte, the crosslinking reaction time, the drying temperature (DT), and the concentration of triethyl citrate plasticizer were varied for determination of their effect on the molar amount of zinc (n(Zn)) incorporated in the crosslinked enterosphere, drug entrapment efficiency (DEE), and mean dissolution time (MDT) at t(2h) in acidic media (0.1 M HCl). Complexometric determination of zinc cations (Zn(2+)) revealed that 23.70-287.89 mol of Zn(2+) per mole of polymer were implicated in crosslink formation. DEE of 27.92% to 99.77% were obtained. Drug release at t(2h) ranged from 1.67% to 73.04%. The salting-out and crosslinking agent significantly affected n(Zn) (p = 0.034) and the DEE (p = 0.000), as did the concentration of plasticizer employed (p = 0.000 and 0.002, respectively). High DTs (>42.5 degrees C) also significantly improved DEE (p = 0.029). ZnSO(4) had a significant effect on the MDT (p = 0.000). A dry dispersible multiparticulate system incorporating the optimally designed INH-loaded enterospheres and RIF was developed. Bivariate regression analysis of UV spectrophotometric absorbance data allowed in vitro resolution of RIF and INH release at simulated gastric pH.

Exploration of cold extrusion for the preparation of enteric minitablets of isoniazid

The objective of the present work was to formulate the enteric minitablets of isoniazid by cold extrusion method. The minitablets were prepared using isoniazid, hydroxylpropylmethylcellulose phthalate and dibasic calcium phosphate. The minitablets were coated using hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate. Full factorial design was adopted to optimize the formulation. The minitablets showed good flow and acceptable friability. The drug release was resisted in 0.1 N HCl for 2 h from the optimized batch. The optimized batch showed more than 90% of drug release in phosphate buffer in 15 min. Capsules containing rifampicin powder and enteric isoniazid minitablets showed complete drug release in acidic and alkaline media respectively. The process of cold extrusion appears to be an attractive alternative to by-pass the existing patents.

A novel technique for imaging film coating defects in the film-core interface and surface of coated tablets

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was introduced and examined as a novel technique for imaging film-core interface and surface defects of film-coated tablets. Tablets of acetylsalicylic acid, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and lactose monohydrate were film-coated with aqueous hydroxypropyl methylcellulose using an instrumented side-vented pan coater. The film coatings were applied using 100- and 500-kPa spraying air pressures. The CLSM images of the coating surface were compared with surface roughness measurements using a laser profilometer and an optical roughness analyzer. The spraying air pressure affected the film-core interface and the occurrence of coating defects. With the lower spraying pressure the aqueous coating solution penetrated into the tablet core, the core components migrated to the coating layer, and the film coating surface was clearly rougher compared to the higher spraying pressure. Storage at 25 degrees C/60% RH or 40 degrees C/75% RH for 3 months expanded the MCC-containing tablet core impaired the film structure and increased the film roughness. Based on the present results, CLSM is an effective tool for imaging film-core interface and surface defects of film-coated tablets. The CLSM images are supported by the results obtained with the other surface roughness measuring techniques.