Guy Van den Mooter

Increasing the oral bioavailability of the poorly water soluble drug itraconazole with ordered mesoporous silica.

This study aims to evaluate the in vivo performance of ordered mesoporous silica (OMS) as a carrier for poorly water soluble drugs. Itraconazole was selected as model compound. Physicochemical characterization was carried out by SEM, TEM, nitrogen adsorption, DSC, TGA and in vitro dissolution. After loading itraconazole into OMS, its oral bioavailability was compared with the crystalline drug and the marketed product Sporanox in rabbits and dogs. Plasma concentrations of itraconazole and OH-itraconazole were determined by HPLC-UV. After administration of crystalline itraconazole in dogs (20mg), no systemic itraconazole could be detected. Using OMS as a carrier, the AUC0-8 was boosted to 681+/-566 nM h. In rabbits, the AUC0-24 increased significantly from 521+/-159 nM h after oral administration of crystalline itraconazole (8 mg) to 1069+/-278 nM h when this dose was loaded into OMS. Tmax decreased from 9.8+/-1.8 to 4.2+/-1.8h. No significant differences (AUC, Cmax, and Tmax) could be determined when comparing OMS with Sporanox in both species. The oral bioavailability of itraconazole formulated with OMS as a carrier compares well with the marketed product Sporanox, in rabbits as well as in dogs. OMS can therefore be considered as a promising carrier to achieve enhanced oral bioavailability for drugs with extremely low water solubility.

The use of amorphous solid dispersions: A formulation strategy to overcome poor solubility and dissolution rate

The use of amorphous solid dispersions is an interesting strategy to increase the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs by improving their rate and extent of dissolution. Lack of understanding of the physical chemistry and their in vivo behavior still hamper full breakthrough in pharmaceutical industry. This paper aims to review aspects like the amorphous state, manufacturing, characterization and biopharmaceutical testing to better understand the strength and weakness of this formulation strategy.

The Phage Therapy Paradigm: Prêt-à-Porter or Sur-mesure?

The present opinion is the result of discussions on the future of phage therapy (personalized or large-scale uniform therapy?) during the first International Congress on Viruses of Microbes, held at the Institut Pasteur in Paris on June 21–25, 2010. Antibiotics are becoming ineffective as important bacterial pathogens evolve to outsmart them. Yet the antibiotic pipeline is running dry with only a few new antibacterial drugs expected to make it to the market in the foreseeable future. Bacteria that are resistant to all available antibacterial drugs, so-called superbugs, are emerging worldwide. Evolutionary ecology might inform practical attempts to bring these pathogens under stronger human control (1). In this context, various laboratories worldwide and a handful of small pharmaceutical companies are turning to (bacterio)phages (2). Phages are natural viruses that specifically infect bacteria. They are (among) the most abundant and ubiquitous lifelike entities on Earth and coevolve with their hosts, the bacteria. Lytic phages bind to receptors on the bacterial cell surface, inject their genetic material, use the bacterium’s reproductive machinery to replicate and subsequently destroy (lyse) the bacterium, irrespective of its resistance to antibiotics, releasing the newly formed phages to seek out new hosts. In 1919, d’Herelle used phages to treat dysentery in Paris, in what was probably the first attempt to use phages therapeutically. d’Herelle eventually developed a commercial laboratory in Paris that produced phage preparations against

Formulation and characterization of ternary solid dispersions made up of Itraconazole and two excipients, TPGS 1000 and PVPVA 64, that were selected based on a supersaturation screening study

Both d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 (TPGS 1000) and polyvidone-vinylacetate 64 (PVPVA 64) provided an increase in the degree of supersaturation and stability of supersaturated Itraconazole solutions, compared to a blanc without excipient. Therefore, both components were combined as carrier in order to make ternary solid dispersions of Itraconazole by spray drying. This way, TPGS 1000 could be incorporated into a powder. Dissolution experiments on the ternary solid dispersions revealed that during the first hour the release was much higher than for the binary Itraconazole/PVPVA 64 solid dispersions. For some compositions a release of more than 80% was reached after 10min. However, after the first hour the drug started to precipitate. The ternary solid dispersions were all XRD amorphous, but MDSC revealed the coexistence of multiple amorphous phases and a crystalline Itraconazole phase, depending on the composition. Therefore the burst effect during the first hour can be ascribed to an accelerated dissolution of the amorphous Itraconazole fraction in the presence of TPGS 1000. The precipitation after 1h, however, is probably due to the combination of the surfactant properties of TPGS and the small crystalline Itraconazole fraction.

Ordered mesoporous silica induces pH-independent supersaturation of the basic low solubility compound itraconazole resulting in enhanced transepithelial transport.

The majority of innovative drug candidates are poorly water soluble and exhibit basic properties. This makes them highly dependent on the in vivo encountered acid-neutral pH sequence to achieve a sufficient dissolution and thus absorption. In this study, we evaluated the pH-independent generation of intraluminally induced supersaturation of the model compound itraconazole and its beneficial effect on the extent of absorption in the Caco-2 system and the rat in situ perfusion system. Local supersaturation was obtained by means of a solvent shift method and a novel formulation strategy based on ordered mesoporous silica (OMS) as a carrier. In vitro results evidenced that both methods were capable of creating a supersaturated state of itraconazole in fasted state simulated intestinal fluid (FaSSIF) when no preceding acidic dissolution was simulated. The extent of supersaturation exceeded 21.9 and 9.6 during at least 4h for the solvent shift method and OMS as a carrier, respectively. As compared to saturation conditions (0.09+/-0.01 microg), supersaturation induced by the solvent shift method as well as by the use of OMS increased transport across a Caco-2 cell monolayer more than 16-fold, resulting in the basolateral appearance of 2.20+/-0.29 microg and 1.46+/-0.03 microg itraconazole after 90 min, respectively. In the absence of an acid-neutral pH sequence, the performance of the marketed product Sporanox was inferior with total transport amounting to 0.12+/-0.03 microg after 90 min. Enhanced absorption was confirmed in the in situ perfusion model where OMS was able to boost total transport of itraconazole after 60 min from 0.03+/-0.01 nmol cm(-1) to 0.70+/-0.09 nmol cm(-1) compared to saturated equilibrium conditions in FaSSIF. The solid dosage form Sporanox again failed to achieve a similar extent of absorption enhancement (0.29+/-0.01 nmol cm(-1)). These findings suggest that intraluminal supersaturation can be created by the use of OMS and that preceding dissolution of basic compounds in the acidic medium of the stomach is not required to allow for efficient intestinal absorption. The use of OMS appears to be a promising strategy for the delivery of especially basic low solubility compounds in patients suffering from hypochlorhydria; the pH independency may also result in a more reproducible systemic exposure.

Formulation of fast disintegrating tablets of ternary solid dispersions consisting of TPGS 1000 and HPMC 2910 or PVPVA 64 to improve the dissolution of the anti-HIV drug UC 781.

Solid dispersion formulations made up of d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate 1000 (TPGS 1000) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone co-vinyl acetate 64 (PVPVA 64) or hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose 2910 (HPMC 2910) were developed in order to improve the dissolution of UC 781. UC 781 dissolution rate was markedly improved as compared to the physical mixtures and the pure drug, attaining maximum drug releases of up to 100% after only 5 min in the case of TPGS 1000-UC 781-PVPVA 64 solid dispersions and 30 min in TPGS 1000-UC 781-HPMC 2910. The increased UC 781 dissolution rate could be maintained when formulating UC 781 in PVPVA 64 tablets. The latter disintegrated in only 4 min, reaching drug releases of up to 90% (w/w). In addition, as opposed to the corresponding solid dispersions, no decrease in drug release occurred upon dissolution of PVPVA 64 tablets when the pH was increased to 6.8. Contrary to the PVPVA 64 tablet formulations, HPMC 2910 tablets showed a slow dissolution process due to the gelling nature of the polymer. The drug was slowly released as HPMC 2910 dissolved in the medium, however also in this case 90% (w/w) of the drug was dissolved after 4 h. Both polymers formed compatible blends in combination with the drug. Thermal analysis of the ternary mixtures revealed eutectic behavior exhibiting an extremely fine dispersion of the drug in the carrier. This was confirmed by the fact that no drug crystals could be detected using X-ray diffraction (XRD). As opposed to the physical mixtures, PVPVA 64 and HPMC 2910 solid dispersions did not contain any isolated polymer-rich phases, hence showed improved homogeneity. Amorphous TPGS 1000 clusters occurred in PVPVA 64 and HPMC 2910 formulations upon addition of at least 10% (w/w) UC 781, showing extremely low glass transition temperatures depending of the thermal history of the samples.

Comparison Between Hot-Melt Extrusion and Spray-Drying for Manufacturing Solid Dispersions of the Graft Copolymer of Ethylene Glycol and Vinylalcohol

ABSTRACTPurposeTo investigate the effect of the manufacturing method (spray-drying or hot-melt extrusion) on the kinetic miscibility of miconazole and the graft copolymer poly(ethyleneglycol-g-vinylalcohol). The effect of heat pre-treatment of solutions used for spray-drying and the use of spray-dried copolymer as excipient for hot-melt extrusion was investigated.MethodThe solid dispersions were prepared at different drug-polymer ratios and analyzed with modulated differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction.ResultsMiconazole either mixed with the PEG-fraction of the copolymer or crystallized in the same or a different polymorph as the starting material. The kinetic miscibility was higher for the solid dispersions obtained from solutions which were pre-heated compared to those spray-dried from solutions at ambient temperature. Hot-melt extrusion resulted in an even higher mixing capability. Here the use of the spray-dried copolymer did not show any benefit concerning the kinetic miscibility of the drug and copolymer, but it resulted in a remarkable decrease in the torque experienced by the extruder allowing extrusion at lower temperature and torque.ConclusionThe manufacturing method has an influence on the mixing capacity and phase behavior of solid dispersions. Heat pre-treatment of the solutions before spray-drying can result in a higher kinetic miscibility. Amorphization of the copolymer by spray-drying before using it as an excipient for hot-melt extrusion can be a manufacturing benefit.

Free flowing solid dispersions of the anti-HIV drug UC 781 with Poloxamer 407 and a maximum amount of TPGS 1000: investigating the relationship between physicochemical characteristics and dissolution behaviour.

Solid dispersions and physical mixtures made up of the poorly water-soluble drug UC 781, a polymer and a surfactant were prepared to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between physicochemical characteristics and dissolution behaviour. In addition, to facilitate downstream processing while still favouring drug dissolution to a maximum extent, formulation conditions were investigated to obtain a free flowing powder which contains a maximum amount of surfactant. Poloxamer 407, a polyethylene-polypropylene glycol block copolymer, was selected as a suitable polymer based on UC 781 supersaturation results. d-Alpha-tocopheryl polyethyleneglycol succinate 1000 (TPGS 1000) was preferred as a surfactant since it increased UC 781 dissolution when formulated in a self-micro emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS), as compared to TPGS 400, TPGS 4000 and TPGS 6000. Based on flow properties, a TPGS 1000/Poloxamer 407 ratio of 80/20 was used to prepare solid dispersions by spray drying. Pure drugs, physical mixtures and solid dispersions were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction. Eutectic phase behaviour was obtained in which the relative distribution of the polyethylene glycol folding was dependent on UC 781 concentration. Drug release was markedly increased when formulated as a solid dispersion with Poloxamer 407 and TPGS 1000. Formulation of solid dispersions did however not further improve the drug dissolution rate compared to that of physical mixtures. Nonetheless, variability of dissolution results was considerably reduced upon solid dispersion formulation.

Characterization of the copolymer poly(ethyleneglycol-g-vinylalcohol) as a potential carrier in the formulation of solid dispersions

In order to fully exploit the graft copolymer poly(ethyleneglycol-g-vinylalcohol) (EG/VA) in the formulation of solid dispersions, a characterization of its phase behavior before, during and after spray-drying and hot-melt extrusion is performed. Solid state characterization was performed using MDSC and XRPD. The effect of heating/cooling rate on the degree of crystallinity was studied using HPer DSC and ultra-fast chip calorimetry. EG/VA consists of two semi-crystalline fractions, one corresponding to the polyethyleneglycol (PEG) fraction (T(g)=-57 degrees C, T(m)=15 degrees C) and one corresponding to the polyvinylalcohol (PVA) fraction (T(g)=45 degrees C, T(m)=212 degrees C). XRPD analysis confirmed its semi-crystallinity, and EG/VA showed Bragg reflections comparable to those of PVA. Spray-drying at a temperature lower than 170 degrees C resulted in amorphization of the PVA fraction, while after hot-melt extrusion at different temperatures, the crystallinity of this fraction increases. In both cases, the PEG fraction is not influenced. Plasticization of the amorphous domains of the PEG or PVA fraction of the copolymer was dependent on the type and concentration of plasticizer, suggesting that also other small organic molecules like drugs may not homogeneously mix with both amorphous domains. A controlled cooling rate of 3000 degrees C/s was necessary to make the copolymer completely amorphous.

Structural Transformations During Swelling of Polycomplex Matrices Based on Countercharged (meth)acrylate Copolymers (EudragitR EPO/EudragitR L 100-55)

With a view to the application in oral controlled drug delivery systems (DDS), the design of new interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) between countercharged types of Eudragit EPO (EPO) and Eudragit L 100-55 (L100-55) was investigated. The formation and composition of four new IPECs between EPO and L100-55 were established by elementary analysis. The structure of the synthesized IPEC was investigated using FTIR spectroscopy and modulated-temperature differential scanning calorimetry. The binding ratio of a unit molecule of EPO with L100-55 was found to range between 1:2.75 (Z = 0.36) and 1:0.55 (Z = 1.81) while increasing the pH value from 5.5 to 7.0. As a result of electrostatic interaction between the copolymer chains, the glass transition temperature of the IPEC increased significantly. A large pH-sensitive swelling behavior was observed for different structures of the IPECs. The outcome of swelling and diclofenac sodium release from the polycomplex matrices confirm that they have great potential to be used as a controlled DDS in specified regions of gastrointestinal tract.