Quality by Design Approach in Liposomal Formulations: Robust Product Development

Enhancing quality-by-design through weighted goal programming: a case study on formulation of ultradeformable liposomes

INTRODUCTION

Optimization of pharmaceutical formulations requires advanced tools to ensure quality, safety, and efficacy. quality-by-design (QbD), introduced by the FDA, emphasizes understanding and controlling processes early in development. Advanced optimization methods, such as desirability, have surpassed traditional single-objective techniques. Others, such as weighted goal programming (WGP) offers unique advantages by integrating decision-maker preferences, enabling balanced solutions for complex drug delivery systems. This study applies WGP to optimize timolol (TM)-loaded nanoliposomes aligning with QbD principles.

METHODS

The optimization process followed six steps: identifying factors and responses, developing a Design of Experiments (DoE) plan, defining ideal and anti-ideal points, setting aspiration levels, assigning relative weights, and applying WGP compared to desirability function. Minimized and balanced deviations from aspiration levels served as criteria for selecting the most robust optimization results. Six responses were analyzed: vesicle size ( z 1 ) , polydispersity index ( z 2 ) , zeta potential ( z 3 ) , deformability index ( z 4 ) , phosphorus content ( z 5 ) , and drug entrapment efficiency ( z 6 ) .

RESULTS

WGP produced a more balanced formulation that simultaneously optimized multiple responses. By incorporating the importance of each response, the WGP approach improved control over size, colloidal stability, and drug entrapment, based on its mathematical formulation. Comparative analysis with the desirability function confirmed that WGP effectively addressed potential tradeoffs without oversimplifying conflicting objectives.

CONCLUSIONS

This case-study demonstrates WGP potential as an advanced multi-objective optimization tool for pharmaceutical applications, improving upon traditional methods in complex formulations. Its ability to harmonize multiple critical attributes in line with QbD highlights its value in developing high-quality pharmaceutical products.

Harnessing Exercise-Like Benefits of Protonation prone Liposomal Resveratrol in Differentiated Fat Cells: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Obesity is a significant health issue resulting from a sedentary lifestyle and is linked to numerous other serious conditions, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Consequently, resveratrol (RES) is gaining attention as an emerging therapeutic agent due to its exercise-like effects. However, RES's instability and low aqueous solubility have limited its applications. This research report focuses on the loading, solubilization, and sustained delivery of RES using a dendrimer complex loaded liposomal formulation. The safety and efficacy of formulation was studied by performing various assays. The DEN-RES complex loaded liposomes were optimized using a Quality by Design (QbD) approach whereas particle size, PDI and zeta potential were found to be 159.29 ± 0.58 nm, 0.206 ± 0.008, and -7.2 ± 0.14 mV, which followed first-order release kinetics for sustained RES release. The mRNA levels of the SIRT1 and AMPK genes were found to be upregulated by more than two folds, whereas the LIPO-DEN-RES downregulated the mRNA expression of PPARγ in adipocytes. Therefore, the modulation of mRNA levels detected in 3T3-L1 cells post-treatment with the LIPO-DEN-RES validates the formulation's potential in addressing obesity.

Insights into Liposomal and Gel-Based Formulations for Dermatological Treatments

Dermatological diseases pose a significant challenge due to their chronic nature, complex pathophysiology, and the need for effective, patient-friendly treatments. Recent advancements in liposomal and gel-based formulations have played a crucial role in improving drug delivery, therapeutic efficacy, and patient compliance. Liposomal formulations have garnered considerable attention in dermatology due to their ability to encapsulate both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds, enabling controlled drug release and enhanced skin penetration. However, challenges such as formulation complexity, stability issues, and regulatory constraints remain. Similarly, gel-based formulations are widely used due to their ease of application, biocompatibility, and ability to retain active ingredients. However, they also face limitations, including restricted penetration depth, susceptibility to microbial contamination, and challenges in achieving sustained drug release. The integration of liposomal and gel-based technologies offers a promising strategy to overcome current challenges and optimize dermatological drug delivery. This review explores both well-established therapies and recent innovations, offering a comprehensive overview of their applications in the treatment of prevalent dermatological conditions. Ultimately, continued research is essential to refine these formulations, expanding their clinical utility and enhancing therapeutic effectiveness in dermatology.

Application of quality by design in optimization of nanoformulations: Principle, perspectives and practices

Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems (NDDS) based nanoformulations have emerged as promising drug delivery systems. Various NDDS-based formulations have been reported such as polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), nanoliposomes, solid lipid NPs, nanocapsules, liposomes, self-nano emulsifying drug delivery systems, pro liposomes, nanospheres, microemulsion, nanoemulsion, gold NPs, silver NPs and nanostructured lipid carrier. They have shown numerous advantages such as enhanced bioavailability, aqueous solubility, permeability, controlled release profile, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. This advantage of NDDS can help to deliver pure drugs to the target site. However, the formulation of nanoparticles is a complex process that requires optimization to ensure product quality and efficacy. Quality by Design (QbD) is a systemic approach that has been implemented in the pharmaceutical industry to improve the quality and reliability of drug products. QbD involves the optimization of different parameters like zeta potential (ZP), particle size (PS), entrapment efficiency (EE), polydispersity index (PDI), and drug release using statistical experimental design. The present article discussed the detailed role of QbD in optimizing nanoformulations and their advantages, advancement, and applications from the industrial perspective. Various case studies of QbD in the optimization of nanoformulations are also discussed.

How Advanced are Self-Assembled Nanomaterials for Targeted Drug Delivery? A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

The development of effective drug delivery systems is a key focus in pharmaceutical research, aiming to enhance therapeutic efficacy while minimizing adverse effects. Self-assembled nanostructures present a promising solution due to their tunable properties, biocompatibility, and ability to encapsulate and deliver therapeutic agents to specific targets. This review examines recent advancements in drug-based self-assembled nanostructures for targeted delivery applications, including drug-drug conjugates, polymeric-based architectures, biomolecules, peptides, DNA, squalene conjugates and amphiphilic drugs. Various strategies for fabricating these nanostructures are discussed, with an emphasis on the design principles and mechanisms underlying their self-assembly and potential for targeted drug delivery to specific tissues or cells. Furthermore, the integration of targeting ligands, stimuli-responsive moieties and imaging agents into these nanostructures is explored for enhanced therapeutic outcomes and real-time monitoring. Challenges such as stability, scalability and regulatory hurdles in translating these nanostructures from bench to bedside are also addressed. Drug-based self-assembled nanostructures represent a promising platform for developing next-generation targeted drug delivery systems with improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects.

Advancing the implementation of innovative analytical technologies in pharmaceutical manufacturing-Some regulatory considerations

Analytical technologies and methods play a pivotal role in attribute understanding and control which are essential to the rapidly evolving field of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. These technologies are advancing quickly, where innovations often involve both new scientific approaches and novel applications of established techniques. In many cases, the lack of harmonized global regulatory expectations presents challenges for the adoption of advanced technologies. This review explores some emerging technology trends and applications, while highlighting regulatory considerations for integrating innovative analytical approaches in pharmaceutical manufacturing. We provide detailed examples on the multi-attribute method (MAM), rapid microbial testing for environmental monitoring, and Raman spectroscopy for product identification, while discussing aspects of the current regulatory landscape and desired future advancements in the regulatory framework. We hope to promote the adoption and implementation of innovative analytical technologies for enhanced patient access, while ensuring product quality and safety.

A quality-by-design approach for optimizing the functionalization of gold nanoparticles onto the surface of doxorubicin-encapsulated liposomes

Stimulus-responsive liposomes (L) are increasingly recognized for their potential in enhancing therapies, especially in cancer nanomedicine, owing to their ability to encapsulate drugs of diverse properties efficiently. In this study, a quality-by-design (QbD) strategy was proposed to optimize the surface functionalization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded L intended for improving cancer treatment. Thin-film hydration and pH-gradient methods were applied for L preparation and Dox loading, respectively. Through a Taguchi design (L9), the AuNPs surface functionalization was optimized by studying variables such as L-Dox:AuNPs ratio, stirring time, temperature, and post-functionalization period, and their impact on various L properties including size, polydispersity, and loading efficiency. This approach allowed thedevelopment of an AuNPs-L-Dox nanoplatform capable of controlled Dox release under bio-relevant conditions and dual pH/photothermal responsiveness for triggering drug release. Upon light irradiation, the nanoplatform exhibited enhanced anticancer efficacy against ovarian cancer cells, showcasing its potential for photothermal hyperthermia therapies. Biocompatibility assessment in absence of irradiation against keratinocytes confirmed safety without increased drug cytotoxicity. This study underscores the effectiveness of the QbD approach in optimizing key parameters for the functionalization of L-Dox with AuNPs, highlighting the potential of this nanoplatform for triggered Dox delivery in cancer nanomedicine, particularly in photothermal hyperthermia therapies.

'Applications of machine learning in liposomal formulation and development'

Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a transformative tool in drug delivery, particularly in the design and optimization of liposomal formulations. This review focuses on the intersection of ML and liposomal technology, highlighting how advanced algorithms are accelerating formulation processes, predicting key parameters, and enabling personalized therapies. ML-driven approaches are restructuring formulation development by optimizing liposome size, stability, and encapsulation efficiency while refining drug release profiles. Additionally, the integration of ML enhances therapeutic outcomes by enabling precision-targeted delivery and minimizing side effects. This review presents current breakthroughs, challenges, and future opportunities in applying ML to liposomal systems, aiming to improve therapeutic efficacy and patient outcomes in various disease treatments.

Liposomal Formulations: A Recent Update

Liposome-based drug delivery technologies have showed potential in enhancing medication safety and efficacy. Innovative drug loading and release mechanisms highlighted in this review of next-generation liposomal formulations. Due to poor drug release kinetics and loading capacity, conventional liposomes have limited clinical use. Scientists have developed new liposomal carrier medication release control and encapsulation methods to address these limits. Drug encapsulation can be optimized by creating lipid compositions that match a drug's charge and hydrophobicity. By selecting lipids and adding co-solvents or surfactants, scientists have increased drug loading in liposomal formulations while maintaining stability. Nanotechnology has also created multifunctional liposomes with triggered release and personalized drug delivery. Surface modification methods like PEGylation and ligand conjugation can direct liposomes to disease regions, improving therapeutic efficacy and reducing off-target effects. In addition to drug loading, researchers have focused on spatiotemporal modulation of liposomal carrier medication release. Stimuli-responsive liposomes release drugs in response to bodily signals. Liposomes can be pH- or temperature-sensitive. To improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic toxicity, researchers added stimuli-responsive components to liposomal membranes to precisely control drug release kinetics. Advanced drug delivery technologies like magnetic targeting and ultrasound. Pro Drug, RNA Liposomes approach may improve liposomal medication administration. Magnetic targeting helps liposomes aggregate at illness sites and improves drug delivery, whereas ultrasound-mediated drug release facilitates on-demand release of encapsulated medicines. This review also covers recent preclinical and clinical research showing the therapeutic promise of next-generation liposomal formulations for cancer, infectious diseases, neurological disorders and inflammatory disorders. The transfer of these innovative liposomal formulations from lab to clinical practice involves key difficulties such scalability, manufacturing difficulty, and regulatory limits.

Enhancing Acute Migraine Treatment: Exploring Solid Lipid Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for the Nose-to-Brain Route

Migraine has a high prevalence worldwide and is one of the main disabling neurological diseases in individuals under the age of 50. In general, treatment includes the use of oral analgesics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for mild attacks, and, for moderate or severe attacks, triptans or 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonists. However, the administration of antimigraine drugs in conventional oral pharmaceutical dosage forms is a challenge, since many molecules have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to reach the brain, which leads to bioavailability problems. Efforts have been made to find alternative delivery systems and/or routes for antimigraine drugs. In vivo studies have shown that it is possible to administer drugs directly into the brain via the intranasal (IN) or the nose-to-brain route, thus avoiding the need for the molecules to cross the BBB. In this field, the use of lipid nanoparticles, in particular solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), has shown promising results, since they have several advantages for drugs administered via the IN route, including increased absorption and reduced enzymatic degradation, improving bioavailability. Furthermore, SLN and NLC are capable of co-encapsulating drugs, promoting their simultaneous delivery to the site of therapeutic action, which can be a promising approach for the acute migraine treatment. This review highlights the potential of using SLN and NLC to improve the treatment of acute migraine via the nose-to-brain route. First sections describe the pathophysiology and the currently available pharmacological treatment for acute migraine, followed by an outline of the mechanisms underlying the nose-to-brain route. Afterwards, the main features of SLN and NLC and the most recent in vivo studies investigating the use of these nanoparticles for the treatment of acute migraine are presented.

Quality by design (QbD) based approach for development of itraconazole-loaded transferosomes for skin cancer: in vitro, ex vivo and cell line studies

OBJECTIVE

Itraconazole (ITZ), a widely used systemic antifungal drug, has been ingeniously repurposed for its antitumor effects. In the present work, we have prepared and optimized the ITZ-loaded transferosomes by Quality by Design (QbD) approach and repurposed them for skin cancer.

METHODS

The transferosomal formulation was optimized by employing a QbD approach with the design of experiment. A combination of screening and optimization design was used for formulation optimization. The optimized formulation was characterized by particle size, PDI, zeta potential, FTIR, XRD, and surface morphology using TEM. In vitro and ex vivo studies were performed using Franz diffusion cells. An in vitro cell line study was performed on the human melanoma A375 cell line.

RESULTS

The optimized formulation has a particle size of 192.37 ± 13.19 nm, PDI of 0.41 ± 0.03, zeta potential -47.80 ± 3.66, and an entrapment efficiency of 64.11 ± 3.75%. In vitro release studies showed that ITZ encapsulated transferosomes offer higher and sustained release than pure drugs. Ex vivo drug penetration and retention studies show that the penetration and retention of transferosomes are more visible in the skin than in the drug. The cell viability study confirms that ITZ encapsulated transferosomes have almost 2-fold more potency against the A375 cell line than pure drug.

CONCLUSION

ITZ encapsulated transferosomes were successfully prepared and optimized using a combination of screening and optimization designs. Based on ex vivo and cell line studies, we conclude that ITZ-loaded transferosomes could aid melanoma management alongside standard therapies.

Development and characterization of novel surface engineered Depofoam: a QbD coupled failure modes and effects analysis risk assessment-based optimization studies

This study aimed to design and develop novel surface-engineered Depofoam formulations to extend the drug delivery to the prescribed time. The objectives are to prevent the formulation from burst release, rapid clearance by tissue macrophages, and instability and to analyze the impact of process and material variables in the characteristics of formulations. This work employed a quality-by-design coupled failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)-risk assessment strategy. The factors for the experimental designs were chosen based on the FMEA results. The formulations were prepared by the double emulsification method followed by surface modification and characterized in terms of critical quality attributes (CQAs). The experimental data for all these CQAs were validated and optimized using the Box-Behnken design. A comparative drug release experiment was studied by the modified dissolution method. Furthermore, the stability of the formulation was also assessed. In addition, the impact of critical material attributes and critical process parameters on CQAs was evaluated using FMEA risk assessment. The optimized formulation method yielded high encapsulation efficiency (86.24 ± 0.69%) and loading capacity (24.13 ± 0.54%) with an excellent zeta potential value (-35.6 ± 4.55mV). The comparative in vitro drug release studies showed that more than 90% of the drug's release time from the surface-engineered Depofoam was sustained for up to 168 h without burst release and ensured colloidal stability. These research findings revealed that Depofoam prepared with optimized formulation and operating conditions yielded stable formulation, protected the drug from burst release, provided a prolonged release, and sufficiently controlled the drug release rate.

Advances in liposome-based delivery of RNA therapeutics for cancer treatment

Liposomal drug delivery systems stand as versatile therapeutic platforms for precisely targeting related elements in cancerous tissues owing to their intrinsic passive and acquired active targeting capabilities and exceptional compatibility with physiologic environments. When the capacity of liposomes as nanocarriers is combined with the revolutionary potential of RNA therapies in affecting undruggable targets, the outcome would be promising drug candidates as game-changers in the cancer treatment arena. However, optimizing liposome composition, physicochemical properties, and surface chemistry is paramount to maximizing their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic attributes. This review highlighted the potential of liposomes as nanovehicles for RNA therapeutics through a literature review and looked at the most recent preclinical and clinical advancements in utilizing liposomal RNA therapeutics for cancer management. Notably, the discovery of novel targets, advancements in liposome engineering, and organizing well-planned clinical trials would help uncover the incredible potential of these nanotherapeutics in cancer patients.

Review on PLGA Polymer Based Nanoparticles with Antimicrobial Properties and Their Application in Various Medical Conditions or Infections

The rise in the resistance to antibiotics is due to their inappropriate use and the use of a broad spectrum of antibiotics. This has also contributed to the development of multidrug-resistant microorganisms, and due to the unavailability of suitable new drugs for treatments, it is difficult to control. Hence, there is a need for the development of new novel, target-specific antimicrobials. Nanotechnology, involving the synthesis of nanoparticles, may be one of the best options, as it can be manipulated by using physicochemical properties to develop intelligent NPs with desired properties. NPs, because of their unique properties, can deliver drugs to specific targets and release them in a sustained fashion. The chance of developing resistance is very low. Polymeric nanoparticles are solid colloids synthesized using either natural or synthetic polymers. These polymers are used as carriers of drugs to deliver them to the targets. NPs, synthesized using poly-lactic acid (PLA) or the copolymer of lactic and glycolic acid (PLGA), are used in the delivery of controlled drug release, as they are biodegradable, biocompatible and have been approved by the USFDA. In this article, we will be reviewing the synthesis of PLGA-based nanoparticles encapsulated or loaded with antibiotics, natural products, or metal ions and their antibacterial potential in various medical applications.

Editorial: Nanomedicine-Based Drug Delivery Systems: Recent Developments and Future Prospects

Since the discovery of nanomedicine-based drug delivery carriers such as nanoparticles, liposomes, and self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS), enormous progress has been achieved in the field of innovative active biomolecule drug delivery systems [...].