Paroxetine hydrochloride controlled release POLYOX® matrix tablets: Screening of formulation variables using Plackett-Burman screening design

Formulation and Development of Oral Fast-Dissolving Films Loaded with Nanosuspension to Augment Paroxetine Bioavailability: In Vitro Characterization, Ex Vivo Permeation, and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation in Healthy Human Volunteers

Paroxetine (PX) is the most potent serotonin reuptake inhibitor utilized in depression and anxiety treatment. It has drawbacks, such as having a very bitter taste, low water solubility, and undergoing extensive first pass metabolism, leading to poor oral bioavailability (<50%). This work aimed to develop and optimize palatable oral fast-dissolving films (OFDFs) loaded with a paroxetine nanosuspension. A PX nanosuspension was prepared to increase the PX solubility and permeability via the buccal mucosa. The OFDFs could increase PX bioavailability due to their rapid dissolution in saliva, without needing water, and the rapid absorption of the loaded drug through the buccal mucosa, thus decreasing the PX metabolism in the liver. OFDFs also offer better convenience to patients with mental illness, as well as pediatric, elderly, and developmentally disabled patients. The PX nanosuspension was characterized by particle size, poly dispersity index, and zeta potential. Twelve OFDFs were formulated using a solvent casting technique. A 2² × 3¹ full factorial design was applied to choose the optimized OFDF, utilizing Design-Expert^® software (Stat-Ease Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA). The optimized OFDF (F1) had a 3.89 ± 0.19 Mpa tensile strength, 53.08 ± 1.28% elongation%, 8.12 ± 0.13 MPa Young's modulus, 17.09 ± 1.30 s disintegration time, and 96.02 ± 3.46% PX dissolved after 10 min. This optimized OFDF was subjected to in vitro dissolution, ex vivo permeation, stability, and palatability studies. The permeation study, using chicken buccal pouch, revealed increased drug permeation from the optimized OFDF; with a more than three-fold increase in permeation over the pure drug. The relative bioavailability of the optimized OFDF in comparison with the market tablet was estimated clinically in healthy human volunteers and was found to be 178.43%. These findings confirmed the success of the OFDFs loaded with PX nanosuspension for increasing PX bioavailability.

Application or function of citric acid in drug delivery platforms

Nontoxic materials with natural origin are promising materials in the designing and preparation of the new drug delivery systems (DDSs). Today's, citric acid (CA) has attracted a great deal of attention because of its special features; green nature, biocompatibility, low price, biodegradability, and commercially available property. So, CA has been employed in the preparation of the various platforms to induce a suitable property on their structure. Recently, several research groups investigated the CA-based platforms in different forms like tablets, dendrimers, hyperbranched polymers, (co)polymer, hydrogels, and nanoparticles as efficient DDSs. By considering an increasing amount of published articles in this field, for the first time, in this review, an overview of the published works regarding CA applications in the design of various DDSs is presented with a detailed and insightful discussion.

Development of Pomegranate Extract-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles: Quality by Design Approach to Screen the Variables Affecting the Quality Attributes and Characterization

The aim of this work was to study the influence of process variables on the quality attributes of pomegranate extract loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (PE-SLNs) using Plackett-Burman design. PE-SLN formulations were prepared by hot homogenization followed by ultra-sonication technique and evaluated based on the dependent variables that were analyzed utilizing Statgraphics Centurion XV software. The lipid and surfactant (type and concentration), co-surfactant concentration, sonication time, and amplitude were selected as the independent variables (X ₁-X ₇). The dependent parameters were particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and cumulative drug release (Y ₁-Y ₅). Response surface plots, Pareto charts, and mathematical equations were generated to study the influence of independent variables on the dependent quality parameters. Out of seven variables, X ₁, X ₂, and X ₆ have the main significant (p value < 0.05) effect on the entrapment efficiency, the cumulative drug release, the polydispersity index, respectively, while particle size was mainly affected by X ₃, X ₆ and zeta potential by X ₁, X ₃, and X ₄. Consequently, this screening study revealed that stearic acid as lipid, Tween 80 as surfactant, as well as sonication with short time and high amplitude can be selected for the development of PE-SLN formulation with minimum particle size, maximum zeta potential, highest entrapment, and sustained drug release behavior. Meanwhile, concentrations of lipid, surfactant, and co-surfactant are planned to be scaled up for further optimization study. In conclusion, the Plackett-Burman design verified its influence and significance in determining and understanding both process and formulation variables affecting the quality of PE-SLNs.

Polyethylene oxide and its controlled release properties in hydrophilic matrix tablets for oral administration

Polymers are excipients that modify the rate of drug release from pharmaceutical dosage forms. Hydrophilic polymer-based controlled drug delivery system is more advantageous as compared to the conventional delivery system as it reduces the dosing frequency, improves therapeutic efficacy, reduces side-effects, and probably enhances patient compliance. Polyethylene oxide (PEO), a nonionic hydrophilic polymer, is one of the most widely used polymers for extending the drug release. This review mainly focuses on the PEO marketed by, but not limited to, The Dow Chemical Company under the trade name of POLYOX^TM. It is commercially available polyethylene oxide polymer existing in various molecular weight and viscosity grades depending upon the application. This study essentially discusses chemistry, physicochemical properties, and the impact of formulation and processing variables on the release of drug from hydrophilic PEO matrix tablets. Moreover, it also summarizes the stability, patents, and regulatory perspectives of POLYOX that can further influence the future developments of controlled release dosage forms.

Optimization studies on compression coated floating-pulsatile drug delivery of bisoprolol

The purpose of the present work was to design and optimize compression coated floating pulsatile drug delivery systems of bisoprolol. Floating pulsatile concept was applied to increase the gastric residence of the dosage form having lag phase followed by a burst release. The prepared system consisted of two parts: a core tablet containing the active ingredient and an erodible outer shell with gas generating agent. The rapid release core tablet (RRCT) was prepared by using superdisintegrants with active ingredient. Press coating of optimized RRCT was done by polymer. A 3² full factorial design was used for optimization. The amount of Polyox WSR205 and Polyox WSR N12K was selected as independent variables. Lag period, drug release, and swelling index were selected as dependent variables. Floating pulsatile release formulation (FPRT) F13 at level 0 (55 mg) for Polyox WSR205 and level +1 (65 mg) for Polyox WSR N12K showed lag time of 4 h with >90% drug release. The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA, and P < 0.05 was statistically significant. Release kinetics of the optimized formulation best fitted the zero order model. In vivo study confirms burst effect at 4 h in indicating the optimization of the dosage form.

Development and comparative evaluation of in vitro, in vivo properties of novel controlled release compositions of paroxetine hydrochloride hemihydrate as against Geomatrix™ platform technology

The objective of this study is to develop, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of novel approaches for controlled release of paroxetine hydrochloride hemihydrate (PHH) in comparison to patented formulation PAXIL CR(®) tablets of GlaxoSmithKline (Geomatrix™ technology). In one of the approaches, hydrophilic core matrix tablets containing 85% of the dose were prepared and further coated with methacrylic acid copolymer to delay the release. An immediate release coating of 15% was given as top coat. The tablets were further optionally coated using ethyl cellulose. In the second approach, hydrophobic matrix core tablets containing metharylic acid copolymer were prepared. In the third approach, PHH was granulated with enteric polymer and further hydrophobic matrix core tablets were prepared. The effect of polymer concentration, level of enteric coating on drug release was evaluated by in vitro dissolution study by varying dissolution apparatus and the rotation speeds. It was found that increase in concentration of high viscosity hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) resulted in reduction of the release rate. The drug release was observed to be dependent on the level of enteric coating and ethyl cellulose coating, being slower at increased coating. The release mechanism of PHH followed zero-order shifting to dissolution dependent by the increase of HPMC content. The formulation was stable without change in drug release rate. In vivo study in human volunteers confirmed the similarity between test and innovator formulations. In conclusion, HPMC-based matrix tablets, which were further coated using methacrylic acid copolymer, were found to be suitable for the formulation of single layer-controlled release PHH.