Development and In Vitro-In Vivo Evaluation of a Novel Sustained-Release Loxoprofen Pellet with Double Coating Layer

pH-responsive zeolite-A/chitosan nanocarrier for enhanced ibuprofen drug delivery in gastrointestinal systems

Targeted drug delivery with responsive release is an emerging research area. Along this line, we report herein the fabrication and characterization of zeolite/chitosan (ZA/CS) composite as a pH-responsive drug carrier for ibuprofen. The drug loading and release, along with cytotoxicity, have been examined to assessing the effectiveness of ZA/CS composite as an ibuprofen therapeutic delivery system. The ZA/CS composite demonstrates a drug loading content (DLC) of 1989.13 mg/g and an entrapment efficiency content (EEC) of 99.88 %, as determined by drug loading. The released ibuprofen demonstrated virtually linear behavior in fluids that simulated the pH values of the gastrointestinal system. The release at pH 1.2 reached 55 % after 2 h. Seven kinetic models were tested to simulate the drug release process. The Ritger-Peppas model was determined to be the most suitable model. The estimated diffusion exponent (n) values were calculated to be 0.863 at pH 1.2 and 0.981 at pH 7.4, suggesting anomalous or non-Fickian diffusion mechanisms. Importantly, the ZA/CS composite exhibited excellent biocompatibility as demonstrated by a cytotoxicity evaluation using the MTT assay. These unique features render the examined ZA/CS composite a promising candidate for future targeted drug delivery applications.

Spatiotemporal delivery of multiple components of rhubarb-astragalus formula for the sysnergistic treatment of renal fibrosis

Purpose

Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum L.) and astragalus (Radix astragali) find widespread used in clinical formulations for treating chronic kidney disease (CKD). Notably, the key active components, total rhubarb anthraquinone (TRA) and total astragalus saponin (TAS), exhibit superiority over rhubarb and astragalus in terms of their clear composition, stability, quality control, small dosage, and efficacy for disease treatment. Additionally, astragalus polysaccharides (APS) significantly contribute to the treatment of renal fibrosis by modulating the gut microbiota. However, due to differences in the biopharmaceutical properties of these components, achieving synergistic effects remains challenging. This study aims to develop combined pellets (CPs) and evaluate the potential effect on unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)-induced renal fibrosis.

Methods

The CPs pellets were obtained by combining TRA/TAS-loaded SNEDDS pellets and APS-loaded pellets, prepared using the fluidized bed coating process. The prepared pellets underwent evaluation for morphology, bulk density, hardness, and flowing property. Moreover, the in vitro release of the payloads was evaluated with the CHP Type I method. Furthermore, the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model was utilized to investigate the potential effects of CPs pellets on renal fibrosis and their contribution to gut microbiota modulation.

Results

The ex-vivo study demonstrated that the developed CPs pellets not only improved the dissolution of TRA and TAS but also delivered TRA/TAS and APS spatiotemporally to the appropriate site along the gastrointestinal tract. In an animal model of renal fibrosis (UUO rats), oral administration of the CPs ameliorated kidney histological pathology, reduced collagen deposition, and decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines. The CPs also restored the disturbed gut microbiota induced by UUO surgery and protected the intestinal barrier.

Conclusion

The developed CPs pellets represent a promising strategy for efficiently delivering active components in traditional Chinese medicine formulas, offering an effective approach for treating CKD.

Pharmaceutical Coating and Its Different Approaches, a Review

Coating the solid dosage form, such as tablets, is considered common, but it is a critical process that provides different characteristics to tablets. It increases the value of solid dosage form, administered orally, and thus meets diverse clinical requirements. As tablet coating is a process driven by technology, it relies on advancements in coating techniques, equipment used for the coating process, evaluation of coated tablets, and coated material used. Although different techniques were employed for coating purposes, which may be based on the use of solvents or solvent-free, each of the methods used has its advantages and disadvantages, and the techniques need continued modification too. During the process of film coating, several inter-and intra-batch uniformity of coated material on the tablets is considered a critical point that ensures the worth of the final product, particularly for those drugs that contain an active medicament in the coating layer. Meanwhile, computational modeling and experimental evaluation were actively used to predict the impact of the operational parameters on the final product quality and optimize the variables in tablet coating. The efforts produced by computational modeling or experimental evaluation not only save cost in optimizing the coating process but also saves time. This review delivers a brief review on film coating in solid dosage form, which includes tablets, with a focus on the polymers and processes used in the coating. At the end, some pharmaceutical applications were also discussed.

Orally Deliverable Dual-Targeted Pellets for the Synergistic Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis

Purpose

The effective treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) poses substantial challenges, and the aetiopathogenesis of UC is closely related to infectious, immunological and environmental factors. Currently, there is a considerable need for the development of orally bioavailable dosage forms that enable the effective delivery of therapeutic drugs to local diseased lesions in the gastrointestinal tract.

Methods

Berberine (BBR) and Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (AM) volatile oil, derived from the Chinese herbs Coptis chinensis Franch and Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz, have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. In this study, we prepared colon-targeted pellets loaded with BBR and stomach-targeted pellets loaded with AM volatile oil for the synergistic treatment of UC. The Box-Behnken design and β-cyclodextrin inclusion technique were used to optimize the enteric coating formula and prepare volatile oil inclusion compounds.

Results

The two types of pellets were spherical and had satisfactory physical properties. The pharmacokinetic results showed that the AUC and MRT values of the dual-targeted (DPs) pellets were higher than those of the control pellets. In addition, in vivo animal imaging confirmed that the DPs could effectively deliver BBR to the colon. Moreover, compared with sulfasalazine and monotherapy, DPs exerted a more significant anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors including IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, TNF-α and MPO both in serum and tissues and enhancing immunity by decreasing the production of IgA and IgG.

Conclusion

The DPs play a synergistic anti-UC effect by exerting systemic and local anti-inflammatory and provide an effective oral targeted preparation for the treatment of UC.

A Recent Update on Drug Delivery Systems for Pain Management

Pain remains a global health challenge affecting approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide. Pain has been an implicit variable in the equation of human life for many centuries considering different types and the magnitude of pain. Therefore, developing an efficacious drug delivery system for pain management remains an open challenge for researchers in the field of medicine. Lack of therapeutic efficacy still persists, despite high throughput studies in the field of pain management. Research scientists have been exploiting different alternatives to curb the adverse side effects of pain medications or attempting a more substantial approach to minimize the prevalence of pain. Various drug delivery systems have been developed such as nanoparticles, microparticles to curb adverse side effects of pain medications or minimize the prevalence of pain. This literature review firstly provides a brief introduction of pain as a sensation and its pharmacological interventions. Second, it highlights the most recent studies in the pharmaceutical field for pain management and serves as a strong base for future developments. Herein, we have classified drug delivery systems based on their sizes such as nano, micro, and macro systems, and for each of the reviewed systems, design, formulation strategies, and drug release performance has been discussed.

Pharmaceutical Application of Tablet Film Coating

Tablet film coating is a common but critical process providing various functionalities to tablets, thereby meeting diverse clinical needs and increasing the value of oral solid dosage forms. Tablet film coating is a technology-driven process and the evolution of coated dosage forms relies on advancements in coating technology, equipment, analytical techniques, and coating materials. Although multiple coating techniques are developed for solvent-based or solvent-free coating processes, each method has advantages and disadvantages that may require continuous technical refinement. In the film coating process, intra- and inter-batch coating uniformity of tablets is critical to ensure the quality of the final product, especially for active film coating containing active pharmaceutical ingredients in the coating layer. In addition to experimental evaluation, computational modeling is also actively pursued to predict the influence of operation parameters on the quality of the final product and optimize process variables of tablet film coating. The concerted efforts of experiments and computational modeling can save time and cost in optimizing the tablet coating process. This review provides a brief overview of tablet film coating technology and modeling approaches with a focus on recent advancements in pharmaceutical applications.

Evaluation of Experimental Multi-Particulate Polymer-Coated Drug Delivery Systems with Meloxicam

The objectives of this study are the development and evaluation of modified release multi-particulate drug delivery systems containing a BCS class II drug (meloxicam), formulated as polymer-coated pellets. Inert seeds containing microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone were prepared by extrusion-spheronization. The obtained cores were loaded with meloxicam using the drug layering technique, by spray coating in a fluidized bed with a liquid dispersion of the drug. The resulting drug pellets were film-coated with various polymers (Acryl-EZE® 93O, Eudragit® RS 30-D as well as experimental composite obtained by adding Methocel™ E5 Premium LV as pore forming agent to the extended release polymer Eudragit® RS 30-D). All experimental systems were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and in vitro release testing, in an attempt to investigate the characteristics of the film coatings and their influence on drug release from the multi-particulate systems. The in vitro release study was performed in two stages, using two media with pH values corresponding to the gastric and intestinal environment (HCl 0.1N, pH = 1.2 for the first two hours of the test and phosphate buffer 50 mM, pH 6.8 for the next 4 h). The in vitro release data have highlighted the impact of the formulation factors on the drug release.

Pharmaceutical Particulates and Membranes for the Delivery of Drugs and Bioactive Molecules

The delivery of drugs and bioactive molecules using pharmaceutical particulates and membranes are of great significance for various applications such as the treatment of secondary infections, cancer treatment, skin regeneration, orthopedic applications and others [...].

Assessing Drug Interaction and Pharmacokinetics of Loxoprofen in Mice Treated with CYP3A Modulators

Loxoprofen (LOX) is a non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor that is widely used for the treatment of pain and inflammation caused by chronic and transitory conditions. Its alcoholic metabolites are formed by carbonyl reductase (CR) and they consist of trans-LOX, which is active, and cis-LOX, which is inactive. In addition, LOX can also be converted into an inactive hydroxylated metabolite (OH-LOXs) by cytochrome P450 (CYP). In a previous study, we reported that CYP3A4 is primarily responsible for the formation of OH-LOX in human liver microsomes. Although metabolism by CYP3A4 does not produce active metabolites, it can affect the conversion of LOX into trans-/cis-LOX, since CYP3A4 activity modulates the substrate LOX concentration. Although the pharmacokinetics (PK) and metabolism of LOX have been well defined, its CYP-related interactions have not been fully characterized. Therefore, we investigated the metabolism of LOX after pretreatment with dexamethasone (DEX) and ketoconazole (KTC), which induce and inhibit the activities of CYP3A, respectively. We monitored their effects on the PK parameters of LOX, cis-LOX, and trans-LOX in mice, and demonstrated that their PK parameters significantly changed in the presence of DEX or KTC pretreatment. Specifically, DEX significantly decreased the concentration of the LOX active metabolite formed by CR, which corresponded to an increased concentration of OH-LOX formed by CYP3A4. The opposite result occurred with KTC (a CYP3A inhibitor) pretreatment. Thus, we conclude that concomitant use of LOX with CYP3A modulators may lead to drug–drug interactions and result in minor to severe toxicity even though there is no direct change in the metabolic pathway that forms the LOX active metabolite.