The enhancing effect of ion-pairing on the skin permeation of glipizide

Ion-pair approach coupled with nanoparticle formation to increase bioavailability of a low permeability charged drug

Atenolol is a drug widely used for the treatment of hypertension. However, the great drawback it presents is a low bioavailability after oral administration. To obtain formulations that allow to improve the bioavailability of this drug is a challenge for the pharmaceutical technology. The objective of this work was to increase the rate and extent of intestinal absorption of atenolol as model of a low permeability drug, developing a double technology strategy. To increase atenolol permeability an ion pair with brilliant blue was designed and the sustained release achieved through encapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). The in vitro release studies showed a pH-dependent release from NPs, (particle size 437.30 ± 8.92) with a suitable release profile of drug (atenolol) and counter ion (brilliant blue) under intestinal conditions. Moreover, with the in vivo assays, a significant increase (2-fold) of atenolol bioavailability after administering the ion-pair NPs by oral route was observed. In conclusion, the combination of ion-pair plus polymeric NPs have proved to be a simple and very useful approach to achieve a controlled release and to increase the bioavailability of a low permeability charged drugs.

Regulating the Skin Permeation Rate of Escitalopram by Ion-pair Formation with Organic Acids

In order to regulate the skin permeation rate (flux) of escitalopram (ESP), ion-pair strategy was used in our work. Five organic acids with different physicochemical properties, benzoic acid (BA), ibuprofen (IB), salicylic acid (SA), benzenesulfonic acid (BSA), and p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), were employed as counter-ions to regulate the permeation rate of ESP across the rabbit abdominal skin in vitro. The interaction between ESP and organic acids was characterized by FTIR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Results showed that all organic acids investigated in this study performed a controlling effect on ESP flux. To further analyze the factors concerned with the permeation capability of ESP-acid complex, a multiple linear regression model was used. It is concluded that the steady-state flux (J) of ESP-acid complexes had a positive correlation with log K _o/w (the n-octanol/water partition coefficient of ion-pair complex) and pK _a (the acidity of organic acid counter-ion), but a negative correlation with MW (the molecular weight of ion-pair complex). The logK _o/w of ion-pair complex is the primary one in all the factors that influence the skin permeation rate of ESP. The results demonstrated that organic acid with appropriate physicochemical properties can be considered as suitable candidate for the transdermal drug delivery of escitalopram.

Analysis of glipizide binding to normal and glycated human serum albumin by high-performance affinity chromatography

In diabetes, the elevated levels of glucose in the bloodstream can result in the nonenzymatic glycation of proteins such as human serum albumin (HSA). This type of modification has been shown to affect the interactions of some drugs with HSA, including several sulfonylurea drugs that are used to treat type II diabetes. This study used high-performance affinity chromatography (HPAC) to examine the interactions of glipizide (i.e., a second-generation sulfonylurea drug) with normal HSA or HSA that contained various levels of in vitro glycation. Frontal analysis indicated that glipizide was interacting with both normal and glycated HSA through two general groups of sites: a set of relatively strong interactions and a set of weaker interactions with average association equilibrium constants at pH 7.4 and 37 °C in the range of 2.4-6.0 × 10(5) and 1.7-3.7 × 10(4) M(-1), respectively. Zonal elution competition studies revealed that glipizide was interacting at both Sudlow sites I and II, which were estimated to have affinities of 3.2-3.9 × 10(5) and 1.1-1.4 × 10(4) M(-1). Allosteric effects were also noted to occur for this drug between the tamoxifen site and the binding of R-warfarin at Sudlow site I. Up to an 18% decrease in the affinity for glipizide was observed at Sudlow site I ongoing from normal HSA to glycated HSA, while up to a 27% increase was noted at Sudlow site II. This information should be useful in indicating how HPAC can be used to investigate other drugs that have complex interactions with proteins. These results should also be valuable in providing a better understanding of how glycation may affect drug-protein interactions and the serum transport of drugs such as glipizide during diabetes.