G. P. Bettinetti

Chitosan/pectin polyelectrolyte complexes : Selection of suitable preparative conditions for colon-specific delivery of vancomycin

The influence of polyelectrolyte complexes composed of chitosan and pectin on the release behaviour of vancomycin has been investigated. Polyelectrolyte complexes between chitosan and pectin were prepared in various pH regions and at different molar ratios by mixing solutions of pectin and chitosan with the same ionic strength. The precipitates were collected by spray-drying and tablets were obtained with the different complexes and vancomycin. FT-IR spectra and TGA thermograms were analysed to study the degree of interactive strength between polyions. In vitro swelling, mucoadhesion and release tests were performed in order to investigate the chitosan/pectin complex ability in the delivery of vancomycin in the gastro-intestinal tract. The results confirmed the formation of polyelectrolyte complexes between pectin and chitosan at pH values in the vicinity of the pKa interval of the two polymers. Chitosan/pectin complexes showed a pH-sensitive swelling ability and drug release behaviour suggesting their possible use for colon-specific localization of vancomycin. Among the different complexes, chitosan/pectin complex prepared in molar ratio of 1:9 showed the highest mucoadhesive properties and a pH-dependent swelling sensitivity suitable for colon-delivery. Moreover, the particular composition of these complexes improved vancomycin availability at alkaline pH on the bases of an enzyme-dependent degradation as confirmed from release studies performed in presence of beta-glucosidase.

The influence of polyvinylpyrrolidone on naproxen complexation with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

The combined effect of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPbetaCD) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the solubility of naproxen (NAP) was studied. Phase-solubility analysis at different temperatures was used to investigate interactions in aqueous solution between NAP and the carriers, either alone or in combination. Equimolar NAP-HPbetaCD solid systems, in the presence or the absence of 15% (w/w) PVP, were prepared by cogrinding, kneading, coevaporation or freeze-drying, and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction analysis, infrared spectroscopy and dissolution rates. The combined use of PVP and HPbetaCD resulted in a synergistic increasing effect of the aqueous solubility of NAP (120 times that of the pure drug). The phenomenon was interpreted in terms of the strongest complexation capacity of HPbetaCD towards NAP, which was reflected by an about 65% increase in the apparent stability constant of the NAP-HPbetaCD complex in the presence of only 0.1% (w/v) PVP. Variations in thermodynamic parameters accounted for a PVP role in the formation of a NAP-HPbetaCD-PVP ternary complex. The positive effect of PVP also reflected on NAP dissolution rates from solid preparations, because all ternary systems, with the exception of physical mixtures, dissolved faster than the corresponding NAP-HPbetaCD binary systems. The results of solid state studies accounted for the occurrence of mechanically- and/or thermally-induced stronger interactions in ternary than in binary systems, that in some cases led to a complete loss of NAP crystallinity.

Investigation of the effects of grinding and co-grinding on physicochemical properties of glisentide

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility of improving the dissolution properties of glisentide, a poorly water-soluble antidiabetic drug, by grinding in a high energy micromill, alone or in mixture with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Conventional and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (DSC, MDSC), thermogravimetry (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), hot-stage FT-IR thermomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the drug solid state, whereas its dissolution rates were determined according to the dispersed amount method. The techniques utilized enabled exclusion of polymorphism phenomena as a consequence of mechanical treatment, and revealed a progressive drug amorphization during grinding. In particular, MDSC allowed a clear determination of the glass transition temperature of the amorphous drug, enabling separation of glass transition from enthalpic relaxation. The amorphous state of the ground drug was the main responsible factor for the obtained 100% dissolution efficiency increase in comparison with the untreated drug. Further significant increases in dissolution properties, directly related to the polymer content in the mixture, were obtained by co-grinding with PVP, whose presence clearly favored drug amorphization, allowing a strong reduction of time and frequency of grinding necessary for obtaining complete drug amorphization.

Differential scanning calorimetry in compatibility testing of picotamide with pharmaceutical excipients

Abstract Differential scanning calorimetry with the support of X-ray powder diffractometry was used as a screening technique for testing the compatibility of picotamide (4-methoxy-N,N′-bis(3-piridinylmethyl)-1,3-benzenedicarboxamide) in the dehydrated form with various pharmaceutical excipients for solid dosage forms. The effect of dry grinding, wet grinding (i.e. kneading) and ageing on drug-excipient blends in the 1:1 (by weight) ratio on physicochemical and chemical stability of the drug was investigated. Chemical compatibility was in general observed with exception of combinations with tartaric and ascorbic acid, where acid/base interactions induced by heating were responsible for the drug degradation evidenced by the profound modification of the thermal effects of individual components. Analogous modifications (i.e. loss of melting peak of the drug) in mixtures with polyvinylpyrrolidone were due to amorphization of picotamide with no substantial alteration of its chemical integrity. Physical compatibility was seen in the systems with microcrystalline cellulose, corn starch, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and hydroxyethylcellulose where dehydrated picotamide was stable except under wet grinding conditions. In combinations with sodium carboxymethylcellulose, veegum and arabic gum solid-state phase transformation of dehydrated picotamide to monohydrate occurred also by simple blending, probably because of the weak interaction between excipient and the associated water.

Interaction of naproxen with α-, β-, and γ-hydroxypropyl cyclodextrins in solution and in the solid state

Solid combinations of naproxen with amorphous hydroxypropyl derivatives of α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrin with an average substitution degree per anhydroglucose unit of 0.6 were investigated for thermal behaviour (differential scanning calorimetry), drug crystallinity (X-ray diffractometry), and dissolution rate (dispersed amount and rotating disc methods). Phase-solubility analysis and computer-aided molecular modelling were carried out to study the inclusion complexation of naproxen with hydroxypropyl cyclodextrins. The cavity size of the host is a selective factor for the solubilizing effect, complexing ability, and dissolution rate enhancement on naproxen, hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin being markedly the most effective derivative. No relationship was found between the decrease in crystallinity of the drug dispersed in the amorphous carrier matrix and the geometrical features of the cyclodextrin macrocycle.

Study of the microstructure of o/w creams with thermal and rheological methods

Thermogravimetric and rheological investigations of oil/water (o/w) creams prepared with different types of surface-active agents (non-ionic, non-ionic POE-free, ionic) were carried out. Thermogravimetry was aimed at the indirect study of the water bond mechanism in o/w creams and the influence of the composition, type and concentration of the mixed emulsifier on the binding of water incorporated in the structure (interlamellar, bulk) and on the binding proportions. The microstructural changes during application were studied with respect to the stability of the lamellar bilayer.

Assessment of solid-state interactions of naproxen with amorphous cyclodextrin derivatives by DSC.

A microcalorimetric method based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of drug-additive binary systems to assess kneading-induced interactions was applied to naproxen (NAP) in combinations with amorphous hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HPbetaCd), beta-cyclodextrin sulfobutyl ether, sodium salt ((SBE)(7m)-betaCd), acetyl beta-cyclodextrin (AcbetaCd) and acetyl gamma-cyclodextrin (AcgammaCd). Modifications of thermal parameters of NAP in DSC curves of physical mixtures indicate heating-induced interactions which resulted in a broadening of the NAP melting endotherm in the combinations with HPbetaCd, AcbetaCd and AcgammaCd. The effect of kneading on the interaction was particularly pronounced for the NAP-HPbetaCd and NAP-(SBE)(7m)-betaCd systems, which show a similar drug-to-carrier interaction ratio (1:2 by weight) as that of the other systems. Drug-to-carrier ratios, calculated considering the amount of NAP which recrystallizes from the melted mixtures equivalent to NAP not bound to the carrier, show a distinctly lower affinity in solid-state of the drug for the anionically charged (SBE)(7m)-betaCd with respect to other neutral carriers. The similar affinity of NAP for AcbetaCd and AcgammaCd demonstrates that the geometry of the cavity, which is a determinant factor for the inclusion complexation in liquid state, does not influence the interaction process in solid-state.

Thermal And Structural Characterization of Commercial α-, β-, and γ-Cyclodextrins

Abstractα-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins (CDs) marketed by five different companies were characterized from the thermal and structural point of view. Three αCD samples showed two-step DSC dehydration profiles and their XRD patterns were characteristic for αCD⋅6H2O form I, whereas one brand with an apparent three-step DSC dehydration behaviour was a mixture of αCD⋅6H2O form I and anhydrous αCD. The differences in the DSC profiles after dehydration and EGA onset decomposition temperatures recorded for the five βCD brands were attributed to different manufacturing and purification processes. The five γCDs brands showed a common thermal behaviour and very similar XRD patterns. The patterns did not match the idealized pattern of γCD⋅14.1H2O, indicating the occurrence of two different hydrated crystal structures.

Interaction of Naproxen with Crystalline and Amorphous Methylated β-Cyclodextrin in the Liquid and Solid State

Abstract Interactions of naproxen (NAP) with amorphous, randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin at a degree of substitution per anhydroglucose unit of 1.8 (RAMEB) and with crystalline heptakis-(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (DIMEB) were studied in aqueous solution and in the solid state using, respectively, phase-solubility analysis (at 25 °C, 37 °C and 47 °C) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) supported by X-ray powder diffractometry. RAMEB and DIMEB displayed similar solubilizing and complexing abilities towards NAP, suggesting analogous inclusion modes of the drug in the host cavity in aqueous solution. Differences were instead observed in interactions in the solid state, where the amorphizing capacity of RAMEB toward NAP (evaluated by DSC) was about twice that of DIMEB at each drug-to-carrier ratio. Assuming that inclusion complexation is also involved in solid-state interactions, molecular modelling accounted for the experimental results in terms of structural features of DIMEB, i.e. the particular inwards orientation of O-6-C-8 groups of three alternate glucoses on the primary hydroxyl side which hampers a deep penetration of NAP in the DIMEB cavity in the solid state. On the contrary, no obstruction of the cavity apparently occurs with RAMEB due its noncrystalline state. The aqueous dissolution rate of NAP from NAP-RAMEB and NAP-DIMEB blends containing 0.59, 0.73, 0.85, and 0.92 mass fraction of carrier linearly increased at decreasing drug-to-carrier ratios. The improvement was 5 to 20 times (from powders) and 50 to 200 times (from discs) the dissolution rate of NAP alone for both carrier. Therefore the choice of the amorphous RAMEB in pharmaceutical formulations can be recommended mainly for economic reasons, though the anhydrous and non-hygroscopic nature of crystalline DIMEB might be of particular advantage in case of moisture sensitive formulations.

Interactions between naproxen and maltoheptaose, the non-cyclic analog ofβ-cyclodextrin

The crystallinity of naproxen in solid combinations with amorphous maltoheptaose, the non-cyclic analog of β-cyclodextrin, was assessed using differential scanning calorimetry supported by X-ray powder diffractometry. Cogrinding induced a decrease in drug crystalinity to an extent which depended on the grinding time, and was most pronounced for the combination of equimolecular composition. Thermal analysis showed that the mechanism behind the conversion of crystalline naproxen into the amorphous state by cogrinding with maltoheptaose differed from that with randomly substituted, amorphous β-cyclodextrins. Interactions of naproxen with maltoheptaose in aqueous solution were studied by means of fluorescence spectroscopy, phase-solubility analysis, and computeraided molecular modelling. Maltoheptaose can wrap up naproxen, taking on a cyclic conformation and forming a ‘pseudo’ inclusion complex (apparent binding constant K1: 1 = 1.0 × 103 (−20%) L mol−1 at 25 °C) which is about as stable as the true inclusion complex with β-cyclodextrin in the lowest temperature range (0-100 K). A better complexing ability for naproxen in terms of binding constant values, however, was displayed by both native and derivatized β-cyclodextrins, the ‘hosts’ with covalently-bound cyclic structures.