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Nakhla DS, Mekkawy AI, Naguib YW, Silva AD, Gao D, Ah Kim J, Alhaj-Suliman SO, Acri TM, Kumar Patel K, Ernst S, Stoltz DA, Welsh MJ, Salem AK. Injectable long-acting ivacaftor-loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolide) microparticle formulations for the treatment of cystic fibrosis: In vitro characterization and in vivo pharmacokinetics in mice. Int J Pharm 2024; 650:123693. [PMID: 38081555 PMCID: PMC10843602 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.123693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing a sustained-release drug delivery system for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) is crucial for decreasing the dosing frequency and improving patients' compliance with the treatment regimen. In the current work, we developed an injectable poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microparticle formulation loaded with ivacaftor, a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) potentiator that increases the open probability of the CFTR anion channel, using a single emulsion solvent evaporation technique. We aimed to study the effect of different parameters on the characteristics of the prepared formulations to select an optimized microparticle formulation to be used in an in vivo pharmacokinetic study in mice. First, a suite of ivacaftor-loaded microparticles were prepared using different formulation parameters in order to study the effect of varying these parameters on microparticle size, morphology, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro release profiles. Prepared microparticles were spherical with diameters ranging from 1.91-6.93 µm, percent drug loading (% DL) of 3.91-10.3%, percent encapsulation efficiencies (% EE) of 26.6-100%, and an overall slow cumulative release profile. We selected the formulation that demonstrated optimal combined % DL and % EE values (8.25 and 90.7%, respectively) for further studies. These microparticles had an average particle size of 6.83 µm and a slow tri-phasic in vitro release profile (up to 6 weeks). In vivo pharmacokinetic studies in mice showed that the subcutaneously injected microparticles resulted in steady plasma levels of ivacaftor over a period of 28 days, and a 6-fold increase in AUC 0 - t (71.6 µg/mL*h) compared to the intravenously injected soluble ivacaftor (12.3 µg/mL*h). Our results suggest that this novel ivacaftor-loaded microparticle formulation could potentially eliminate the need for the frequent daily administration of ivacaftor to people with CF thus improving their compliance and ensuring successful treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Nakhla
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Aml I Mekkawy
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Pharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sohag University, Sohag, Sohag 82524, Egypt
| | - Youssef W Naguib
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Aaron D Silva
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Dylan Gao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Jeong Ah Kim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Suhaila O Alhaj-Suliman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Timothy M Acri
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Krishna Kumar Patel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Sarah Ernst
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - David A Stoltz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Michael J Welsh
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Aliasger K Salem
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
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