Single step bottom-up process to generate solid phospholipid nano-particles

Application of the Box-Behnken Design in the Development of Amorphous PVP K30-Phosphatidylcholine Dispersions for the Co-Delivery of Curcumin and Hesperetin Prepared by Hot-Melt Extrusion

Background: Curcumin and hesperetin are plant polyphenols known for their poor solubility. To address this limitation, we prepared amorphous PVP K30-phosphatidylcholine dispersions via hot-melt extrusion. Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the amounts of active ingredients and phosphatidylcholine, as well as the process temperature, on the performance of the dispersions. A Box-Behnken design was employed to assess these factors. Solid-state characterization and biopharmaceutical studies were then conducted. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) was used to confirm the amorphous nature of the dispersions, while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provided insight into the miscibility of the systems. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to assess the intermolecular interactions. The apparent solubility and dissolution profiles of the systems were studied in phosphate buffer at pH 6.8. In vitro permeability across the gastrointestinal tract and blood-brain barrier was evaluated using the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay. Results: The quantities of polyphenols and phospholipids were identified as significant factors influencing the biopharmaceutical performance of the systems. Solid-state analysis confirmed the formation of amorphous dispersions and the development of interactions among components. Notably, a significant improvement in solubility was observed, with formulations exhibiting distinct release patterns for the active compounds. Furthermore, the in vitro permeability through the gastrointestinal tract and blood-brain barrier was enhanced. Conclusions: The findings suggest that amorphous PVP K30-phosphatidylcholine dispersions have the potential to improve the biopharmaceutical properties of curcumin and hesperetin.

Amorphous Polymer-Phospholipid Solid Dispersions for the Co-Delivery of Curcumin and Piperine Prepared via Hot-Melt Extrusion

Curcumin and piperine are plant compounds known for their health-promoting properties, but their use in the prevention or treatment of various diseases is limited by their poor solubility. To overcome this drawback, the curcumin-piperine amorphous polymer-phospholipid dispersions were prepared by hot melt extrusion technology. X-ray powder diffraction indicated the formation of amorphous systems. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed amorphization and provided information on the good miscibility of the active compound-polymer-phospholipid dispersions. Owing to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the intermolecular interactions in systems were investigated. In the biopharmaceutical properties assessment, the improvement in solubility as well as the maintenance of the supersaturation state were confirmed. Moreover, PAMPA models simulating the gastrointestinal tract and blood-brain barrier showed enhanced permeability of active compounds presented in dispersions compared to the crystalline form of individual compounds. The presented paper suggests that polymer-phospholipid dispersions advantageously impact the bioaccessibility of poorly soluble active compounds.

Hydrogenated phospholipid, a promising excipient in amorphous solid dispersions of fenofibrate for oral delivery: Preparation and in-vitro biopharmaceutical characterization

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) represent a viable formulation strategy to improve dissolution and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. Our study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and potential role of hydrogenated phospholipid (HPL) as a matrix material and solubilizing additive for binary (alone) or ternary (in combination with polymers) solid dispersions, using fenofibrate (FEN) as the model drug. FEN, incorporated within ASDs by melting or freeze-drying (up to 20% m/m), stayed amorphous during short-term stability studies. The solubility enhancing potential of HPL depended on the dissolution medium. In terms of enhancing in vitro permeation, solid dispersions with HPL were found equally or slightly more potent as compared to the polymer-based ASD. For studied ASD, in vitro permeation was found substantially enhanced as compared to a suspension of crystalline FEN and at least equal compared to marketed formulations under comparable conditions (literature data). Additionally, while the permeation of neat FEN and FEN in binary solid dispersions was affected by the dissolution medium (i.e., the "prandial state"), for ternary solid dispersions the permeation was independent of the "prandial state" (FaSSIF = FeSSIF). This suggests that ternary solid dispersions containing both polymer and HPL may represent a viable formulation strategy to mitigate fenofibrate's food effect.

Spray drying as an advantageous strategy for enhancing pharmaceuticals bioavailability

Spray drying is an efficient technique that is used not only for rapid evaporation of the solvent from different systems but also for designing ultra-fine particles with various desirable characteristics. The obtained powders demonstrate reasonably narrow size distribution with a submicron-to-micron size range. It is one of the recent techniques applied to present acceptable solutions to enhance the absorption and bioavailability of some challenging drugs. In view of that, the purpose of this review is to shed some light on the wide variety of the recently developed fine particulate products that can be produced from spray-drying technique. This article reports the most outstanding advantages and challenges that could be overcome by exploiting the spray-drying technique for the production of different pharmaceuticals, including pure drug particles and drug-loaded polymeric carriers. The potential of this technique, whether used alone or in combination with other methods, in order to develop reproducible and scalable procedures for the best translation of bench-to-bedside innovation of pharmaceutical products is hereby discussed.

Advances of Nano-Structured Extended-Release Local Anesthetics

Extended-release local anesthetics (LAs) have drawn increasing attention with their promising role in improving analgesia and reducing adverse events of LAs. Nano-structured carriers such as liposomes and polymersomes optimally meet the demands of/for extended-release, and have been utilized in drug delivery over decades and showed satisfactory results with extended-release. Based on mature technology of liposomes, EXPAREL, the first approved liposomal LA loaded with bupivacaine, has seen its success in an extended-release form. At the same time, polymersomes has advances over liposomes with complementary profiles, which inspires the emergence of hybrid carriers. This article summarized the recent research successes on nano-structured extended-release LAs, of which liposomal and polymeric are mainstream systems. Furthermore, with continual optimization, drug delivery systems carry properties beyond simple transportation, such as specificity and responsiveness. In the near future, we may achieve targeted delivery and controlled-release properties to satisfy various analgesic requirements.

Swellable polymeric particles for the local delivery of budesonide in oral mucositis

Topical drug delivery in the oral mucosa has its set of challenges due to the unique anatomical and physiological features of the oral cavity. As such, the outcomes of local pharmacological treatments in oral disorders can fail due to unsuccessfully drug delivery. Oral mucositis, a severe inflammatory and ulcerative side effect of oncological treatments, is one of such diseases. Although the damaged tissue is within reach, no approved topical drug treatment is available. Several strategies based on its physiopathology have been implemented and clinically used. Even so, results tend to lack or be insufficient to improve patient's quality of life. The use of corticosteroids has been employed in such strategies due to their strong anti-inflammatory action. Typically, these are administrated in simple liquid formulations, where the drug is dispersed or solubilized, lacking the ability to maintain local concentration. In this work, we propose the development of a biocompatible delivery system with boosted abilities of retention and control release of budesonide, a corticosteroid with an elevated ratio of topical anti-inflammatory to systemic action. Through spray-drying, polymeric particles of Chitosan and Eudragit® E PO were produced and characterized for the vectorization of this drug.

Advantages and challenges of the spray-drying technology for the production of pure drug particles and drug-loaded polymeric carriers

Spray-drying is a rapid, continuous, cost-effective, reproducible and scalable process for the production of dry powders from a fluid material by atomization through an atomizer into a hot drying gas medium, usually air. Often spray-drying is considered only a dehydration process, though it also can be used for the encapsulation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic active compounds within different carriers without substantial thermal degradation, even of heat-sensitive substances due to fast drying (seconds or milliseconds) and relatively short exposure time to heat. The solid particles obtained present relatively narrow size distribution at the submicron-to-micron scale. Generally, the yield% of spray-drying at laboratory scale with conventional spray-dryers is not optimal (20-70%) due to the loss of product in the walls of the drying chamber and the low capacity of the cyclone to separate fine particles (<2 μm). Aiming to overcome this crucial drawback in early development stages, new devices that enable the production of submicron particles with high yield, even for small sample amounts, have been introduced into the market. This review describes the most outstanding advantages and challenges of the spray-drying method for the production of pure drug particles and drug-loaded polymeric particles and discusses the potential of this technique and the more advanced equipment to pave the way toward reproducible and scalable processes that are critical to the bench-to-bedside translation of innovative pharmaceutical products.