Solubility Enhancement of a Poorly Water Soluble Drug by Forming Solid Dispersions using Mechanochemical Activation

Preparation of olmesartan medoxomil solid dispersion with sustained release performance by mechanochemical technology

Hypertension is a common disease for human with high morbidity and mortality, and olmesartan medoxomil (OM) is widely used in the therapy of hypertension. However, poor water solubility and low bioavailability limit its widespread use. To improve the effect of OM, a ternary OM solid dispersion consisting of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was prepared by mechanochemical method. The best preparation parameters were OM/HP-β-CD/HPMC-E5 with mass ratio of 1:2.6:1 and milling time of 4 h. Under the optimal preparation conditions, the solubility of the ternary solid dispersion could be increased by 12 times as compared with pure OM. Due to the addition of HPMC-E5, the solid dispersion had sustained release performance with prolonged release time of 12 h. Furthermore, in vivo study demonstrated that the prepared solid dispersion could afford significantly improved bioavailability of ~ 3-fold in comparison with pure drug. Hence, the prepared ternary solid dispersion of OM may be a promise delivery system for clinical application.

Comparison of biorelevant simulated media mimicking the intestinal environment to assess the solubility profiles of poorly soluble drugs

During the discovery stage in lead identification/optimization, compounds are characterized for their solubilities in biorelevant media and these data are often used to model the in vivo behavior of the compounds and predict the fraction absorbed. These media are selected to closely approximate the composition of human intestinal fluid. Owing to the complexity and variability in human intestinal fluid composition, it is essential that the chosen simulated media mimic the in vivo condition as closely as possible. Several recipes have been developed and are routinely used in assessing the solubilities of compounds. It is necessary to revisit these recipes and modify them as the understanding of the human GI tract increases. In the present work, we have evaluated the solubilities of six model compounds in several media and have proposed slight modifications to the currently used recipes based on our own data and that reported in the literature.