Taste-masked orodispersible tablets of cyclosporine self-nanoemulsion lyophilized with dry silica

Compatibility Assessment of Novel Orodispersible Film Vehicle for Personalized Medicine with Selected Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients

Orodispersible films (ODFs) are solid pharmaceutical forms for rapid local or systemic release of active ingredients. They are formed by a water-soluble polymer film that hydrates rapidly, adhering and dissolving immediately when placed on the tongue or in the oral cavity. In this paper, we describe the compatibility and disintegration times of compounded ODFs using OrPhylloTM, a new ready-to-use-vehicle, and APIs from different pharmacological classes, such as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) 50 mg, bromopride 5 mg, coenzyme Q10 20 mg, melatonin 3 mg, resveratrol 5 mg, tadalafil 10 mg, vitamin B12 1 mg, or vitamin D3 2000 UI. ODFs were compounded and, subsequently, the samples were assayed using HPLC at initial (t = 0), 7 days (t = 7), 14 days (t = 14), 30 days (t = 30), 60 days (t = 60), 90 days (t = 90), 120 days (t = 120), 150 days (t = 150), and 180 days (t = 180) after compounding. Given the percentage of recovery of the APIs within the films, the beyond-use date of the final products (API + vehicle) was at least 90 days for vitamin D3, 150 days for bromopride and 5-HTP, and 180 days for coenzyme Q10, tadalafil, vitamin B12, resveratrol, and melatonin, when stored at room temperature. The average disintegration time was 46.22 s. This suggests that the OrPhylloTM vehicle is suitable for compounding ODFs with APIs from different pharmacological classes, with good compatibility and fast disintegration.

Rapid oral transmucosal delivery of zaleplon-lavender oil utilizing self-nanoemulsifying lyophilized tablets technology: development, optimization and pharmacokinetic evaluation

Based on the administration convenience, transmucosal buccal drug delivery allows special strength points over peroral routes for systemic delivery. It could achieve local or systemic effect and boost drugs’ bioavailability for agents with first pass metabolism. The current study aimed to manufacture and optimize a lavender oil–based nanoemulsion loaded with zaleplon and incorporate it into fast-disintegrating tablets to promote its dissolution and oral bioavailability via oral mucosa. Zaleplon-loaded nanoemulsions were devised with various levels of lavender oil (10% to 25%), the surfactant Sorbeth-20 (35% to 65%), and the co-surfactant HCO-60 (20% to 40%); the extreme vertices mixture statistical design was adopted. The droplet size and drug-loading efficiency were the evaluated. The optimal formulation was transformed into self-nanoemulsified lyophilized tablets (ZP-LV-SNELTs), which were tested for their uniformity of content, friability, and disintegration time with in-vitro release. Finally, the pharmacokinetic parameters of the ZP-LV-SNELTs were determined and compared with those of marketed formulations. The optimal nanoemulsion had a droplet size of 87 nm and drug-loading capacity of 185 mg/mL. ZP-LV-SNELTs exhibited acceptable friability and weight uniformity and a short disintegration time. The in-vitro release of ZP-LV-SNELTs was 17 times faster than that of the marketed tablet. Moreover, the optimal ZP-LV-SNELTs increased the bioavailability of zaleplon in rabbits by 1.6-fold compared with the commercial tablets. Hence, this investigation revealed that ZP-LV-SNELTs delivered zaleplon with enhanced solubility, a fast release, and boosted bioavailability thru oral mucosa which provided a favorable route for drug administration which is suggested to be clinically investigated in future studies

Development and Evaluation of Cannabidiol Orodispersible Tablets Using a 23-Factorial Design

Orodispersible tablets (ODTs) are pharmaceutical formulations used to obtain fast therapeutic effects, usually recommended for geriatric and pediatric patients due to their improved compliance, bioavailability, ease of administration, and good palatability. This study aimed to develop ODTs with cannabidiol (CBD) phytocannabinoid extracted from Cannabis sativa used in the treatment of Lennox–Gastaut and Dravet syndromes. The tablets were obtained using an eccentric tableting machine and 9 mm punches. To develop CBD ODTs, the following parameters were varied: the Poloxamer 407 concentration (0 and 10%), the type of co-processed excipient (Prosolv^® ODT G2—PODTG2 and Prosolv^® EasyTab sp—PETsp), and the type of superdisintegrant (Croscarmellose—CCS, and Soy Polysaccharides—Emcosoy^®—EMCS), resulting in eleven formulations (O1–O11). The following dependent parameters were evaluated: friability, disintegration time, crushing strength, and the CBD dissolution at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 min. The dependent parameters were verified according to European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) requirements. All the tablets obtained were in accordance with quality requirements in terms of friability (less than 1%), and disintegration time (less than 180 s). The crushing strength was between 19 N and 80 N. Regarding the dissolution test, only four formulations exhibited an amount of CBD released higher than 80% at 30 min. Taking into consideration the results obtained and using the Modde 13.1 software, an optimal formulation was developed (O12), which respected the quality criteria chosen (friability 0.23%, crushing strength of 37 N, a disintegration time of 27 s, and the target amount of CBD released in 30 min of 99.3 ± 6%).

Recent exploration of nanoemulsions for drugs and cosmeceuticals delivery

BACKGROUND

Nanoemulsions (NEs) have been explored as nanocarriers for the delivery of many drugs and cosmeceuticals. The extraordinary expansion of using NEs is due to their capability to conquer the main challenges of conventional delivery systems such as short residence time with low patient acceptance, poor stability, low aqueous solubility, permeability, and hence bioavailability.

METHODS

This review recapitulated the most recent pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical applications of NEs as effective delivery nanocarriers. The outputs of our research studies and the literature review on the latest NEs applications were assessed to highlight the NEs components, preparations, applications, and the improved quality and elegance of the used product.

RESULTS

NEs are stable submicronic translucent dispersions with narrow droplet size distribution. They exhibited excellent ability to efficiently encapsulate therapeutics of diverse nature of drugs and cosmeceuticals. NE formulations showed superiority over conventional delivery approaches with overabundances of advantages through different routes of administration. This novel technology exhibited better aesthetic appeal, higher bioavailability, and a longer duration compared to the conventional delivery systems.

CONCLUSION

This novel technology holds promise for different therapeutics fields. However, the success of NEs use advocated the development of robust formulations, proper choice of equipment, ample process characterization, and assurance of their efficacy, stability, safety and cosmetic appeal.

Tadalafil-Loaded Limonene-Based Orodispersible Tablets: Formulation, in vitro Characterization and in vivo Appraisal of Gastroprotective Activity

Background

Gastric ulcer is a prevalent disease with various etiologies, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and alcohol consumption. This study aimed to explore the dual gastric protection effect of tadalafil and limonene as a self-nanoemulsifying system (SNES)-based orodispersible tablets.

Methods

Tadalafil-loaded limonene-based SNES was prepared, and the optimum formula was characterized in terms of particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ZP) then loaded on various porous carriers to formulate lyophilized orodispersible tablets (ODTs). The ODTs were evaluated via determining hardness, friability, content uniformity, wetting, and disintegration time. The selected ODT was examined for its gastric ulcer protective effect against alcohol-induced ulcers in rat model. Ulcer score and ulcer index were computed for rats stomachs that were inspected macroscopically and histopathologically.

Results

The prepared SNES had droplet size of 104 nm, polydispersity index of 0.2, and zeta potential of −15.4 mV. From the different ODTs formulated, the formula with superior wetting time: 23.67 s, outstanding disintegration time: 28 s, accepted hardness value: 3.11 kg/cm² and friability: 0.6% was designated. A significant gastroprotective effect of the unloaded and tadalafil-loaded ODTs was recognized compared to the omeprazole pre-treated group. Moreover, the histopathological analysis displayed very mild inflammation in the limonene-based ODTs group and intact structure in the tadalafil-loaded pre-treated animals.

Conclusion

Limonene gastroprotective effect functioned along with tadalafil in the form of SNES-incorporated ODTs could serve as a promising revenue for better efficacy in gastric ulcer prevention.

The use of electronic tongue and sensory panel on taste evaluation of pediatric medicines: a systematic review

The palatability of medications is an essential factor for children's adherence to drug treatment. Several methods for drug taste assessment have been developed. The aim of this review is to explore the literature reports of the main methods for the evaluation of medicines taste, named electronic tongue (e-tongue, in vitro) and human sensory panel. A systematic search was performed up to March 2020 and a total of 88 articles were selected. The e-tongue (57.5%) has been more frequently described than the sensory panel (10.3%), while some articles (32.2%) used both techniques. 74.7% of the articles mentioned 'pediatric', 'paediatric' or 'children' in the text, but only 19.5% developed formulations targeting pediatric audience and sensory testing in children is rarely seen. The e-tongue has predominance of use in the taste evaluation of pediatric medicines probably since it is fast, easy to perform and risk free, besides presenting less imprecise data and no fatigue. The human panel is more realistic, despite its intrinsic variability. In this sense, it is proposed the use of e-tongue as a fast way to select the most promising sample(s) and, after that, the sensory panel should be applied in order to confirm the taste masking.

Development and in vitro Evaluation of Gastro-protective Aceclofenac-loaded Self-emulsifying Drug Delivery System

AIM

Chronic use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is commonly associated with gastric irritation and gastric ulceration. Therefore, the aim of study was to develop a novel oral drug delivery system with minimum gastric effects and improved dissolution rate for aceclofenac (ACF), a model BCS class-II drug.

METHODS

Self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) were formulated to increase the solubility and ultimately the oral bioavailability of ACF. Oleic acid was used as an oil phase, Tween 80 (T80) and Kolliphor EL (KEL) were used as surfactants, whereas, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) and propylene glycol (PG) were employed as co-surfactants. Optimized formulations (F1, F2, F3 and F4) were analyzed for droplet size, poly dispersity index (PDI), cell viability studies, in vitro dissolution in both simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid, ex vivo permeation studies and thermodynamic stability.

RESULTS

The optimized formulations showed mean droplet sizes in the range of 111.3 ± 3.2 nm and 470.9 ± 12.52 nm, PDI from 244.6 nm to 389.4 ± 6.51 and zeta-potential from -33 ± 4.86 mV to -38.5 ± 5.15 mV. Cell viability studies support the safety profile of all formulations for oral administration. The in vitro dissolution studies and ex vivo permeation analysis revealed significantly improved drug release ranging from 95.68 ± 0.02% to 98.15 ± 0.71% when compared with control. The thermodynamic stability studies confirmed that all formulations remain active and stable for a longer period.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, development of oral SEDDS might be a promising tool to improve the dissolution of BCS class-II drugs along with significantly reduced exposure to gastric mucosa.

Critical Evaluation of Laboratory Potentiometric Electronic Tongues for Pharmaceutical Analysis-An Overview

Electronic tongue systems equipped with cross-sensitive potentiometric sensors have been applied to pharmaceutical analysis, due to the possibility of various applications and developing new formulations. Many studies already proved the complementarity between the electronic tongue and classical analysis such as dissolution tests indicated by Pharmacopeias. However, as a new approach to study pharmaceuticals, electronic tongues lack strict testing protocols and specification limits; therefore, their results can be improperly interpreted and inconsistent with the reference studies. Therefore, all aspects of the development, measurement conditions, data analysis, and interpretation of electronic tongue results were discussed in this overview. The critical evaluation of the effectiveness and reliability of constructed devices may be helpful for a better understanding of electronic tongue systems development and for providing strict testing protocols.

Successful development of oral SEDDS: screening of excipients from the industrial point of view

Oral administration is the most accepted and favored route as various side effects such as fear, pain and risk of infections can be avoided resulting in a comparatively high patient compliance. However, from the industrial point of view the development of oral delivery systems is still challenging as various drugs are poorly soluble as well as slightly permeable leading to low bioavailability. As self-emulsifying drug delivery systems are able to incorporate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, these carrier systems have received more and more attention within the last years. Based on the broad range of currently available excipients, this review provides a kind of guideline for the selection of excipients useful to improve bioavailability of the drug on the one hand. As the regulatory status of potential excipients are highly important to introduce the formulation on the market, the review is focused on the other hand on excipients listed in the IIG database of the FDA by taking their corresponding maximum concentration into account. Furthermore, the issue of oral sensation and taste masking is discussed useful for the development of intraoral SEDDS.