Enalapril:β-CD complex: Stability enhancement in solid state

One stone, two birds: An eco-friendly aerogel based on waste pomelo peel cellulose for the efficient adsorption of dyes and heavy metal ions

To achieve the objective of "waste control by waste", in this study, a green aerogel adsorbent comprised of pomelo-peel cellulose and sodium alginate (PCC/SA) was prepared through dual-network crosslinking. The resulting 3D hierarchical porous structured PCC/SA aerogel exhibited good structural stability, and kept the morphological integrity during 10 days in a wide pH range (2-10), suggesting its potential for recycling in diverse complex environments. Besides, the superior adsorption capacities for methylene blue (MB) and Cu(II) were observed, with the qm values and adsorption equilibrium times were recorded to be 1299.59 mg/g (300 min) and 287.55 mg/g (120 min), correspondingly. Furthermore, the favorable reusability of the PCC/SA aerogel was also demonstrated, with the removal efficiency for MB remaining almost unchanged (about 94 %) after 10 adsorption-desorption cycles, while there was a slight reduction for Cu(II) from 85.28 % to 72.47 %. XPS and FTIR analysis revealed that electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, cation exchange and coordination were the major adsorption mechanisms. Importantly, the PCC/SA aerogel can be naturally degraded in soil within 10 weeks. Therefore, the as-prepared aerogel bead derived from pomelo peel shows great promise as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment containing dye and heavy metal ions.

Essential considerations towards development of effective nasal antibiotic formulation: features, strategies, and future directions

INTRODUCTION

Intranasal antibiotic products are gaining popularity as a promising method of administering antibiotics, which provide numerous benefits, e.g. enhancing drug bioavailability, reducing adverse effects, and potentially minimizing resistance threats. However, some issues related to the antibiotic substances and nasal route challenges must be addressed to prepare effective formulations.

AREAS COVERED

This review focuses on the valuable points of nasal delivery as an alternative route for administering antibiotics, coupled with the challenges in the nasal cavity that might affect the formulations. Moreover, this review also highlights the application of nasal delivery to introduce antibiotics for local therapy, brain targeting, and systemic effects that have been conducted. In addition, this viewpoint provides strategies to maintain antibiotic stability and several crucial aspects to be considered for enabling effective nasal formulation.

EXPERT OPINION

In-depth knowledge and understanding regarding various key considerations with respect to the antibiotic substances and nasal route delivery requirement in preparing effective nasal antibiotic formulation would greatly improve the development of nasally administered antibiotic products, enabling better therapeutic outcomes of antibiotic treatment and establishing appropriate use of antibiotics, which in turn might reduce the chance of antibiotic resistance and enhance patient comfort.

Cyclodextrins and Their Derivatives as Drug Stability Modifiers

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides that contain a relatively hydrophobic central cavity and a hydrophilic outer surface. They are widely used to form non-covalent inclusion complexes with many substances. Although such inclusion complexes typically exhibit higher aqueous solubility and chemical stability than pure drugs, it has been shown that CDs can promote the degradation of some drugs. This property of stabilizing certain drugs while destabilizing others can be explained by the type of CD used and the structure of the inclusion complex formed. In addition, the ability to form complexes of CDs can be improved through the addition of suitable auxiliary substances, forming multicomponent complexes. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the effect that binary and multicomponent complexes have on the chemical and physical stability of complexed drugs. The objective of this review is to summarize the studies on the stabilizing and destabilizing effects of complexes with CDs on drugs that exhibit stability problems.

Improving the Stability and the Pharmaceutical Properties of Norfloxacin Form C Through Binary Complexes with β-Cyclodextrin

Norfloxacin, an antibiotic that exists in different solid forms, has very unfavorable properties in terms of solubility and stability. Binary complexes of norfloxacin, in the solid form C, and β-cyclodextrin were procured by the kneading method and physical mixture. Their effect on the solubility, the dissolution rate, and the chemical and physical stability of norfloxacin was evaluated. To perform stability studies, the solid samples were stored under accelerated storage conditions, for a period of 6 months. Physical stability was monitored through powder X-ray diffraction, high-resolution ¹³C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed evidence that the kneaded complex increased and modulated the dissolution rate of norfloxacin C. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the photochemical stability was increased in the complex, without affecting its physical stability. The results point to the conclusion that the new kneading complex of norfloxacin constitutes an alternative tool to formulate a potential oral drug delivery system with improve oral bioavailability.

Effects of cyclodextrins on the chemical stability of drugs

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are enabling pharmaceutical excipients that can enhance both solubility and stability of wide variety of drugs in aqueous solutions through formation of drug/CD inclusion complexes where apolar moieties of the drug molecules are located inside the CD cavity. In properly designed pharmaceutical formulations CDs will improve physiochemical properties of lipophilic drugs without affecting their intrinsic ability to permeate biological membranes. Here the effect of CD complexes on the chemical stability of drugs is reviewed. Numerous studies shown that in aqueous solutions CD complexation can hamper hydrolysis, oxidation, photodegradation, isomerization and enzyme catalyzed degradation of dissolved drugs. However, some drugs, such as β-lactam antibiotics, can under certain conditions undergo CD catalyzed degradation in aqueous solutions. Also, some drugs that are stabilized by CDs in aqueous solutions are destabilized by the same CDs in solid dosage forms. Thus, the effects of CDs on drug stability have to be tested and verified in the final drug formulation and under the recommended storage conditions.

Fluidized Bed Hot Melt Granulation with Hydrophilic Materials Improves Enalapril Maleate Stability

This work aimed at developing enalapril maleate granules in order to improve its stability in solid dosage form. Granules were prepared by hot melt granulation using a fluidized bed apparatus. Gelucire 50/13®, polyethylene glycol 6000 e Poloxamer 407® were studied and compared as binders in 2 × 2 factorial designs where the proportions of enalapril maleate, binders and spray dried lactose were varied. The granulation process resulted in high yields and granule sizes that indicated the prevalence of particles coating. Furthermore, the granules obtained showed adequate flowability and a fast dissolution rate of enalapril maleate with almost 100% of the drug released in 10 min. The stability of enalapril maleate in hard gelatin capsules showed that the drug stability was greatly increased in granules, since for raw drug, the remaining content of enalapril maleate after 91 days was 68.4% and, for granules, the content was always above 93%. This result was confirmed by the quantification of the degradation products, enalaprilat and diketopiperazine, which were found in very low content in granules samples. The results demonstrate that fluidized bed hot melt granulation with hydrophilic binders is a suitable alternative for improving the chemical stability of enalapril maleate.

Stability of furosemide polymorphs and the effects of complex formation with β-cyclodextrin and maltodextrin

The effect of the formation of supramolecular binary complexes with β-cyclodextrin and maltodextrin on the chemical and physical stability of the polymorphs I and II of furosemide was evaluated in solid state. The solid samples were placed under accelerated storage conditions and exposed to daylight into a stability chamber for a 6-month. Chemical stability was monitored by high performance liquid chromatography, while the physical stability was studied by solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Changes in the physical appearance of the samples were evaluated. The studies showed a significant stabilizing effect of β-cyclodextrin on furosemide form II. Our results suggest that the complex formation is a useful tool for improving the stability of furosemide polymorphs. These new complexes are promising candidates that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry for the preparation of alternative matrices that improve physicochemical properties.

Effect of preparation processes and structural insight into the supermolecular system: Bisacodyl and β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex

In this study, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and bisacodyl were chosen as model host and guest molecule to explore the effect of preparation processes on the physicochemical properties of inclusion complexes (ICs) and to gain an insight into the structure of ICs. The influence of temperature and pH on complexation was studied by multiple temperature-pH phase solubility analysis. The most favorable conformation was predicted by molecular modeling using AutoDock. (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance and rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy further confirmed the structure. Moreover, bisacodyl · β-CD ICs in solid state were successfully prepared via three different procedures (co-crystallization, co-evaporation, and co-grinding) and fully characterized by several solid-state techniques, namely, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that acid solution and low temperature were unfavorable for formation of bisacodyl · β-CD. The pyridine moiety was suggested to be enclosed in the hydrophobic cavity of β-CD. The complexes prepared using co-crystallization showed properties similar to those prepared using co-evaporation. Moreover, ICs obtained by co-evaporation and co-grinding had higher loading efficiency, water solubility, and dissolution rate than ICs obtained by co-crystallization.

Increasing doxycycline hyclate photostability by complexation with β-cyclodextrin

Doxycycline hyclate (DOX) is a highly photosensitive drug, a feature that limits the stability of the corresponding dosage forms. The main objectives of this work were the preparation and characterization of an inclusion complex of DOX with β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and to investigate if this approach could improve the photostability of the drug. Guest-host interactions were investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance, which were afterwards combined with molecular modeling methods to study the complex formation and its three-dimensional structure was proposed. A freeze-drying method was applied to obtain the complex in the solid state, which was further confirmed by thermal and spectroscopic techniques. To evaluate the complexation effect on DOX integrity, the photostability of the inclusion complex was studied, with a significant decrease in the photodegradation of DOX being found in aqueous solution upon complexation. Finally, the photoprotection produced by the complexation was evaluated by means of an antimicrobial assay. Overall, the presented results suggest that the formulation of DOX complexed with βCD constitutes an interesting approach for the preparation of pharmaceutical dosage forms of DOX with enhanced stability properties.

Improving furosemide polymorphs properties through supramolecular complexes of β-cyclodextrin

In this work, complexes of β-cyclodextrin and the two solid forms of furosemide were prepared and characterized for their potential pharmaceutical applications, with the interactions between the two compounds being studied in the solution and solid states. The solubility studies revealed different behaviors of the polymorphs. In particular, it was observed that the binary complex significantly increased the solubility of furosemide form I in the gastric simulated fluid, which resulted in a rise in the bioavailability of this formulation after oral administration. In addition, results using ssNMR, FT-IR, DSC, TGA, SEM and XRPD provided evidence of the formation of complexes after utilizing kneading and freeze-drying methods. A comparison with previous developed complexes that used maltodextrin as the ligand was performed. Our results suggest that these novel supramolecular complexes showed promise to be used in drug delivery systems with an application in pharmaceutical formulations.

Effect of stearic acid on enalapril stability and dissolution from multiparticulate solid dosage forms

Enalapril maleate (EM) is a widely used anti-hypertensive drug which is unstable when mixed with excipients. Enalaprilate and diketopiperazine (DPK) are the main degradation products of enalapril. The in situ preparation of enalapril sodium salt (NaE) has been used to improve drug stability in dosage forms; however, gas release and product rejection ensue when the chemical reaction for obtaining the sodium salt is not completely finished before packaging. This study evaluated the effect of stearic acid (SA) on enalapril stability in microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) pellets containing EM or NaE. MCC pellets containing SA were prepared by the extrusion-spheronization technique and characterized. Enalapril stability and dissolution were then evaluated. DPK and enalaprilate formation were reduced by the addition of SA in pellets containing EM. The overall enalapril degradation in these formulations was lower when compared with pellets containing EM or even NaE prepared without SA. The immediate-release characteristic was maintained by the addition of 5% crospovidone to all the formulations tested. The incorporation of SA into NaE pellets resulted in unexpected enalapril degradation, caused by the interaction of these compounds, as suggested by a thermal analysis of the SA-NaE binary mixture. The findings presented here showed that formulations containing SA could substitute the formation of NaE, since they provide better enalapril stability in solid dosage forms. In addition, it is suggested that the stabilization effects would be observed for other N-carboxyalkyl dipeptide analogs with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition activity, since these new entities share the same degradation pathway of enalapril.

Comparative analysis of zaleplon complexation with cyclodextrins and hydrophilic polymers in solution and in solid state

The aim of this work was to investigate the potential synergistic effect of water-soluble polymers (hypromellose, HPMC and polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) on zaleplon (ZAL) complexation with parent β-cyclodextrin (βCD) and its randomly methylated derivative (RAMEB) in solution and in solid state. The addition of HPMC to the complexation medium improved ZAL complexation and solubilization with RAMEB (K(ZAL/RAMEB)=156±5M(-1) and K(ZAL/RAMEB/HPMC)=189±8M(-1); p<0.01), while such effect was not observed for βCD (K(ZAL/βCD)=112±2M(-1) and K(ZAL/βCD/HPMC)=119±8M(-1); p>0.05). Although PVP increased the ZAL aqueous solubility from 0.22 to 0.27mg/mL, it did not show any synergistic effects on ZAL solubilization with the cyclodextrins tested. Binary and ternary systems of ZAL with βCD, RAMEB and HPMC were prepared by spray-drying. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated a partial ZAL amorphization in spray-dried binary and ternary systems with βCD, while the drug was completely amorphous in all samples with RAMEB. Furthermore, inclusion complex formation in all systems prepared was confirmed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The in vitro dissolution rate followed the rank order ZAL/RAMEB/HPMC>ZAL/RAMEB=ZAL/βCD/HPMC>ZAL/βCD≫ZAL, clearly demonstrating the superior performance of RAMEB on ZAL complexation in the solid state and its synergistic effect with HPMC on drug solubility. Surprisingly, when loaded into tablets made with insoluble microcrystalline cellulose, RAMEB complexes had no positive effect on drug dissolution, because HPMC and RAMEB acted as a binders inside the tablets, prolonging their disintegration. Oppositely, the formulation with mannitol, a soluble excipient, containing a ternary RAMEB system, released the complete drug-dose in only 5min, clearly demonstrating its suitability for the development of immediate-release oral formulation of ZAL.