Xiurong Yuan

A Novel Strategy for Pharmaceutical Cocrystal Generation Without Knowledge of Stoichiometric Ratio: Myricetin Cocrystals and a Ternary Phase Diagram

PurposeTo develop a streamlined strategy for pharmaceutical cocrystal preparation without knowledge of the stoichiometric ratio by preparing and characterizing the cocrystals of myricetin (MYR) with four cocrystal coformers (CCF).MethodsAn approach based on the phase solubility diagram (PSD) was used for MYR cocrystals preparation and the solid-state properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The ternary phase diagram (TPD) was constructed by combining the PSD and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. After that, the TPD was verified by traditional methods. The dissolution of MYR in the four cocrystals and pure MYR within three different media were also evaluated.ResultsA simple research method for MYR cocrystal preparation was obtained as follows: first, the PSD of MYR and CCF was constructed and analyzed; second, by transforming the curve in the PSD to a TPD, a region of pure cocrystals formation was exhibited, and then MYR cocrystals were prepared and identified by DSC, FT-IR, PXRD, and SEM; third, with the composition of the prepared cocrystal from NMR, the TPD of the MYR-CCF-Solvent system was constructed. The powder dissolution data showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of MYR was significantly enhanced by the cocrystals.ConclusionsA novel strategy for pharmaceutical cocrystals preparation without knowledge of the stoichiometric ratio based on the TPD was established and MYR cocrystals were successfully prepared. The present study provides a systematic approach for pharmaceutical cocrystal generation, which benefits the development and application of cocrystal technology in drug delivery.

Effects of solid dispersion and self-emulsifying formulations on the solubility, dissolution, permeability and pharmacokinetics of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in total flavones of Hippophae rhamnoides L.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of solid dispersions (SD) and self-emulsifying (SE) formulations on the solubility and absorption properties of active components in total flavones of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (TFH). The solubility, dissolution rate, permeability and pharmacokinetics of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in TFH SD/SE formulations and TFH were compared. The results showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in SD/SE formulations were significantly enhanced compared to those in TFH, however, their intestinal permeability was comparable. The bioavailability of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in rats remarkably increased after oral administration of TFH SD formulations compared to TFH, but there was no significant increase after oral administration of TFH SE formulations. The results of this study indicated the SD formulations on the improvement of pharmacokinetic properties of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in TFH were much better than those of SE formulations. The improvement of pharmacokinetic properties of isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol in TFH by SD formulations was probably ascribed to the enhancement of the solubility and dissolution of the three components, but was not relevant to the intestinal permeability. Therefore, as for herb extracts containing multiple components, especially for their major components with poor water solubility, solid dispersion formulations might have the better potential to enhance their bioavailability.