Swapnil J. Dengale

Recent advances in co-amorphous drug formulations

Co-amorphous drug delivery systems have recently gained considerable interest in the pharmaceutical field because of their potential to improve oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs through drug dissolution enhancement as a result of the amorphous nature of the material. A co-amorphous system is characterized by the use of only low molecular weight components that are mixed into a homogeneous single-phase co-amorphous blend. The use of only low molecular weight co-formers makes this approach very attractive, as the amount of amorphous stabilizer can be significantly reduced compared with other amorphous stabilization techniques. Because of this, several research groups started to investigate the co-amorphous formulation approach, resulting in an increasing amount of scientific publications over the last few years. This study provides an overview of the co-amorphous field and its recent findings. In particular, we investigate co-amorphous formulations from the viewpoint of solid dispersions, describe their formation and mechanism of stabilization, study their impact on dissolution and in vivo performance and briefly outline the future potentials.

Preparation and characterization of co-amorphous Ritonavir-Indomethacin systems by solvent evaporation technique: improved dissolution behavior and physical stability without evidence of intermolecular interactions.

The aim of this study was to stabilize the amorphous form of Ritonavir (RTV) a BCS class-II drug with known amorphous stabilizing small molecule Indomethacin (IND) by co-amorphous technology. The co-amorphous samples were prepared by solvent evaporation technique in the molar ratios RTV:IND (2:1), RTV:IND (1:1), RTV:IND (1:2) and their amorphous nature was confirmed by XRPD, DSC and FT-IR. Physical stability studies were carried out at temp 25°C and 40°C for maximum up to 90 days under dry conditions. Solubility and dissolution testing were carried out to investigate the dissolution advantage of prepared co-amorphous systems. The amorphous mixtures of all tested molar ratios were found to become amorphous after solvent evaporation. The same was confirmed by detecting halo pattern in diffractograms of co-amorphous mixtures. The Tg values of all three systems were found to be more than 40°C, the highest being 51.88°C for RTV:IND (2:1) system. Theoretical Tg values were calculated by Gordon-Taylor equation. Insignificant deviation of theoretical Tg values from that of practical one, corroborated by FT-IR studies showed no evidence of intermolecular interactions between RTV and IND. Almost 3-folds increase in the solubility for both amorphous RTV and IND was found as compared to their respective crystalline counterparts. The study demonstrated significant increase in the dissolution rate as well as increase in the total amount of drug dissolved for amorphous RTV, however it failed to demonstrate any significant improvement in the dissolution behavior of IND.

Fabrication, solid state characterization and bioavailability assessment of stable binary amorphous phases of Ritonavir with Quercetin

In the current study, Quercetin (QRT) was characterized for thermodynamic and kinetic parameters and found as an excellent glass former. QRT was paired with Ritonavir (RTV) (BCS class-IV antiretroviral) to form stable amorphous form and pharmacologically relevant combination. Binary amorphous forms of RTV and QRT in molar ratios 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1 were prepared by solvent evaporation technique and characterized by XRPD, DSC and FTIR. The prepared binary phases were found to become amorphous after solvent evaporation which was confirmed by disappearance of crystalline peaks from X-ray diffractograms and detecting single Tg in DSC studies. The physical stability studies at 40 °C for 90 days found RTV:QRT 1:2 and RTV:QRT 2:1 phases stable, while trace crystallinity was detected for 1:1M ratio. The temperature stability of RTV:QRT 1:2 and RTV:QRT 2:1 amorphous forms can be attributed to phase solubility of both components where the drug in excess acts as a crystallization inhibitor. Except for RTV:QRT 1:2 ratio, there was no evidence of intermolecular interactions between two components. Almost 5 fold increase in the saturation solubility was achieved for RTV, compared to crystalline counterpart. While for QRT, the solubility advantage was not achieved. In vivo oral bioavailability study was conducted for 1:2 binary amorphous form by using pure RTV as a control. Cmax was improved by 1.26 fold and Tmax was decreased by 2h after comparing with control indicating improved absorption. However no significant enhancement of oral bioavailability (1.12 fold after comparing with control) was found for RTV.

Simultaneous improvement of solubility and permeability by fabricating binary glassy materials of Talinolol with Naringin: Solid state characterization, in-vivo in-situ evaluation

The aim of the current study was to prepare binary amorphous forms of Talinolol (TLN) by using Naringin (NRG) as a stabilizing agent. The secondary objective of this study was to study the effect of P-gp inhibitor NRG on the P-gp probe drug TLN. The binary amorphous samples were prepared by quench cooling technique in the molar ratios TLN:NRG (1:1), TLN:NRG (1:2), TLN:NRG (2:1). The prepared samples were characterized by DSC, FTIR and XRD. Amorphicity of the prepared binary amorphous samples was confirmed by spotting diffuse halo in the diffractograms and further corroborated by detecting glass transition event (Tg) in the thermograms of the respective samples. The Tgs for all prepared systems were found above room temperature, the highest being 45.43 °C. The systems were found physically stable at 25 °C and 40 °C at dry conditions for 60 days. The temperature stability of prepared amorphous forms may be attributed to strong intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction between TLN and NRG, which was confirmed by Gordon-Taylor calculations and FTIR data. The solubility of TLN in amorphous form was increased by approximately 9-fold as compared to its crystalline counterpart. The in-vivo bioavailability study conducted on wistar rats demonstrated 5.4-fold increase in the AUC0-t value for TLN as compared to its crystalline counterpart. Further to learn the contribution of P-gp inhibition by NRG on the permeability of TLN, In-vitro single pass perfusion studies were conducted on the ileum of wistar rats. The permeability of TLN in rat ileum in the presence of NRG was significantly increased to 3.16×10(-5) cm/s as compare to control value 2.48×10(-5) cm/s. The current study demonstrated the ability of binary amorphous technology to simultaneously overcome both the BCS barriers i.e. solubility and permeability.

Osmotically controlled pulsatile release capsule of montelukast sodium for chronotherapy: Statistical optimization, in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Abstract The purpose of present study was to design, optimize and evaluate osmotically controlled pulsatile release capsule (PRC) of montelukast sodium (MKS) for the prevention of episodic attack of asthma in early morning and associated allergic rhinitis. Assembly of the capsular systems consisted of push, active and plug tablet arranged from bottom to top in hard gelatin capsule. The capsule system was coated with a semi-permeable membrane of cellulose acetate and drilled towards plug side in cap. A three-factor, three-level central composite design (CCD) with α = 1 was introduced to execute the experiments and quadratic polynomial model was generated to predict and assess the independent variables with respect to the dependent variables. The composition of optimal formulation was determined as weight of push tablet 138 mg (coded value: +0.59), plug tablet 60 mg (coded value: +0.49) and coating weight gain of 8.4 mg (coded value: −0.82). The results showed that the optimal formulation of PRCs had lag time of 4.5 h, release at 6 and 12 h are 61.95% and 96.29%, respectively. The X-ray radiographic imaging study was carried out to monitor the in vivo behavior of developed barium sulfate-loaded PRCs in rabbits under fasting conditions. In vivo pharmacokinetic study revealed Tmax of 2 h for marketed tablets; however 7 h for PRCs with initial lag time of 4 h. Thus designed capsular system may be helpful for patients with episodic attack of asthma in early morning and associated allergic rhinitis.

Development of fast dissolving oral films containing lercanidipine HCl nanoparticles in semicrystalline polymeric matrix for enhanced dissolution and ex vivo permeation

Lercanidipine is a vasoselective dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, mainly used for the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris. However, it suffers from food dependent absorption, poor solubility, low permeability and considerable first pass metabolism, resulting in highly variable and low bioavailability of 10%. Nanoparticles of lercanidipine were incorporated in fast dissolving oral films (FDO) via preparation of nanosuspension by evaporative antisolvent precipitation method. Prepared nanosuspensions were incorporated in FDO without lyophilizing or spray drying. Two nanosuspensions containing PEG 400 and TPGS 1000 as stabilizers, were selected further for incorporation in FDO. Physicochemical and mechanical properties of the optimized films were observed to be within acceptance criteria. SEM images as well as FTIR chemical images of oral films show uniform distribution of nanoparticles in polymeric matrix. The DSC and XRD results proved the poorly crystalline nature of lercanidipine. However thermal processing of film induces crystallinity in hypromellose which results in embedding of amorphous drug nanoparticles in semicrystalline polymeric matrix. Superior dissolution and permeability properties of nanoparticles were confirmed by in vitro dissolution studies and about 4.5-folds higher ex vivo drug permeation was observed from formulation through porcine buccal mucosa. This may give the clue for enhancement of bioavailability in vivo via improving orotransmucosal absorption.

Development and Validation of Liquid Chromatographic Method for Estimation of Naringin in Nanoformulation

A simple, precise, accurate, rapid, and sensitive reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method with UV detection has been developed and validated for quantification of naringin (NAR) in novel pharmaceutical formulation. NAR is a polyphenolic flavonoid present in most of the citrus plants having variety of pharmacological activities. Method optimization was carried out by considering the various parameters such as effect of pH and column. The analyte was separated by employing a C18 (250.0 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column at ambient temperature in isocratic conditions using phosphate buffer pH 3.5: acetonitrile (75 : 25% v/v) as mobile phase pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. UV detection was carried out at 282 nm. The developed method was validated according to ICH guidelines Q2(R1). The method was found to be precise and accurate on statistical evaluation with a linearity range of 0.1 to 20.0 μg/mL for NAR. The intra- and interday precision studies showed good reproducibility with coefficients of variation (CV) less than 1.0%. The mean recovery of NAR was found to be 99.33 ± 0.16%. The proposed method was found to be highly accurate, sensitive, and robust. The proposed liquid chromatographic method was successfully employed for the routine analysis of said compound in developed novel nanopharmaceuticals. The presence of excipients did not show any interference on the determination of NAR, indicating method specificity.

The Assessment of pH-Induced Supersaturation and Impact of an Additional Drug on the Solution Phase Behavior of Saquinavir

PurposeThe goal of this study was to investigate the ability of saquinavir to generate the in vivo supersaturation and the impact of the presence of another solute, i.e., ritonavir, on the phase behavior of the former.MethodThe phase behavior of saquinavir alone and in the presence of ritonavir was studied by pH shift supersaturation assay. The generation of drug-rich phase was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV extinction method. The nature of precipitate generated after pH shift was investigated by employing DSC and XRPD. Further, the flux studies were performed by employing dialysis membrane using Franz diffusion cell.ResultsSaquinavir precipitated in the amorphous form exhibiting type-II precipitation behavior generating the drug-rich phase and undergoing glass-liquid phase separation (GLPS) after the shift in pH towards higher side. The supersaturation advantage of saquinavir was marginally lowered in the presence of amorphous ritonavir. However, the free drug concentration of ritonavir was significantly reduced below the saturation solubility generating a subsaturated state. Both the drugs exhibited lowering in the chemical potential in the presence of each other, thereby reducing their flux/diffusion. The decrease in the free drug concentration and chemical potential were found dependent on the mole fraction of the solute present in the binary supersaturated solution.ConclusionThe findings of the phase behavior of weak bases in the presence of other solutes are of great value not only in fixed-dose combination and concomitantly administered drugs but also in formulating supersaturated systems like amorphous solid dispersions and co-amorphous systems.

In vitro and in vivo comparison between crystalline and co-amorphous salts of naproxen-arginine

Graphical abstract Figure. No Caption available. Abstract Liquid‐assisted grinding (LAG) and dry ball milling (DBM) have recently been used to obtain different physical forms of drug‐amino acid salts with promising dissolution and physical stability properties. In this work, crystalline and co‐amorphous naproxen‐arginine mixtures were prepared using LAG and DBM, respectively, and compared with regard to their in vitro and in vivo performance. X‐ray powder diffraction and Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy showed that LAG led to the formation of a crystalline salt, while DBM led to a co‐amorphous salt. These results agreed with the differential scanning calorimetry profiles: a melting point of 230 °C was determined for the crystalline salt, while the co‐amorphous formulation showed a single glass transition temperature at approx. 92 °C. Both solid state forms of the salt showed increased intrinsic dissolution rates (14.8 and 74.1‐fold, respectively) and also higher solubility (25.3 and 29.8‐fold, respectively) compared to the pure crystalline drug in vitro. Subsequently, the co‐amorphous salt revealed an improved bioavailability in a pharmacokinetic study, showing a 1.5‐fold increase in AUC0‐t and a 2.15‐fold increase in cmax compared to the pure crystalline drug. In contrast, even though showing a better in vitro performance, the crystalline salt interestingly did not show an increase in bioavailability in comparison to pure crystalline naproxen.

The relevance of co-amorphous formulations to develop supersaturated dosage forms: In-vitro, and ex-vivo investigation of Ritonavir-Lopinavir co-amorphous materials

ABSTRACT Ritonavir and Lopinavir have previously been demonstrated to decrease the maximum solubility advantage and flux in the presence of each other. The present study investigated the ability of Ritonavir and Lopinavir co‐amorphous materials to generate a supersaturated state. Further, it explored the precipitation and flux behavior of co‐amorphous materials. The co‐amorphous materials of Ritonavir and Lopinavir were prepared by quench cool method and characterized in the solid state using XRPD, DSC, FTIR. The solubility studies were conducted in USP phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) for 12 h. The supersaturation potential and precipitation behavior were studied employing pH shift method. Further, the diffusion behavior was explored in vitro and ex‐vivo using a semipermeable membrane and intestinal everted sac method, respectively. The results showed that the co‐amorphous materials have the potential to generate a supersaturated state. However, the reduction in the amorphous solubility was observed for both the drug(s) and the degree of reduction was found proportionate with the mole fraction of the compound in the co‐amorphous material. Interestingly, the flux of both the drugs from co‐amorphous material of 2:1 M ratio (Ritonavir 2: Lopinavir 1) was found exceeding the flux of the individual drugs in the amorphous form. The significant increase in the flux was attributed to the improved drug release properties due to precipitation of drug rich phase of nano/micro dimensions. Graphical abstract Figure. No Caption available.