Xiaoyu Sui

Preparation, characterization and in vivo assessment of the bioavailability of glycyrrhizic acid microparticles by supercritical anti-solvent process.

In this study, glycyrrhizic acid (GA) microparticles were successfully prepared using a supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process. Carbon dioxide and ethanol were used as the anti-solvent and solvent, respectively. The influences of several process parameters on the mean particle size (MPS), particle size distribution (PSD) and total yield were investigated. Processed particle sizes gradually decreased as temperature and solution flow rate increased. In addition, processed particle sizes increased from 119 to 205 nm as GA concentration increased. However, CO(2) flow rate did not significantly affect particle size. The optimized process conditions were applied, those included temperature (65 °C), pressure (250 bar), CO(2) and drug solution flow rate (15 and 8 mL min(-1)), drug concentration in ethanol (20 mg mL(-1)). Microparticles with a span of PSD ranging from 95 and 174 nm, MPS of 128 nm were obtained, and total yield was 63.5%. The X-ray diffraction patterns of glycyrrhizic acid microparticles show apparent amorphous nature. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy results show that no chemical structural changes occurred. The in vitro dissolution tests showed that the GA microparticles exhibited great enhancement of dissolution performance when compared to GA original drug. Furthermore, the in vivo studies revealed that the microparticles provided improved pharmacokinetic parameter after oral administration to rats as compared with original drug.

Preparation, characterization, and evaluation in vivo of Ins-SiO2-HP55 (insulin-loaded silica coating HP55) for oral delivery of insulin

Insulin is the most effective and durable drug in the treatment of advanced stage diabetes. However, oral delivering insulin was a tough task for rapid enzymatic degradation. In this work, we designed and developed a delivery system composed of enteric nanosphere for oral delivery of insulin. The silica was selected for loading insulin, which surface has a lot of pores with a powerful adsorption capacity, advantages for permeability and slow-release. The insulin-loaded silica (Ins-SiO2) was prepared by adsorption in HCl solution. The Ins-SiO2 obtained was coated with the hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HP55) by desolvation method, which is a good enteric coating material. The Ins-SiO2-HP55, an enteric nanosphere of insulin obtained were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), surface area, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that insulin was loaded most in the pores of silica, while the HP55 coated on the extent of Ins-SiO2. In vitro drug release results revealed that the release of insulin from Ins-SiO2-HP55 was markedly reduced in simulated gastric fluid (SGF). By contrast, the release amount of insulin from Ins-SiO2-HP55 was increased significantly in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). In vivo evaluation on diabetic animals showed the blood glucose level of diabetic rats could be effectively reduced after oral administration Ins-SiO2-HP55. There is marked hypoglycemic effect after 1h of taking the Ins-SiO2-HP55. After 3h, the GLU of rats of the Ins-SiO2-HP55 stably kept from 4.85 to 2.67 mmol/L that was significantly less than the normal level (6.7 mmol/L). However, that of rats taking raw insulin kept from 8.03 to 6.56 mmol/L that is higher than the normal level. These results suggested that Ins-SiO2-HP55 could have potential value in oral administration systems of diabetes chemotherapy.

Optimization of shikonin homogenate extraction from Arnebia euchroma using response surface methodology.

An efficient homogenate extraction technique was employed for extracting shikonin from Arnebia euchroma. The homogenate extraction procedure was optimized and compared with other conventional extraction techniques. The proposed method gave the best result with the highest extraction efficiency in the shortest extraction time. Based on single-factor experiments, a three-factor-three-level experimental design has been developed by Box-Behnken design. The optimal conditions were 78% ethanol as solvent, homogenate extraction time of 4.2 min, 10.3 liquid to solid ratio and two extraction cycles. Moreover, the proposed method was validated by stability, repeatability and recovery experiments. The developed homogenate extraction method provided a good alternative for the extraction of shikonin from A. euchroma. The results indicated that the proposed homogenate extraction was a convenient, rapid and efficient sample preparation technique and was environmental friendly. Furthermore, homogenate extraction has superiority in the extraction of thermally sensitive compounds from plant matrices.