Tamarindus indica pectin blend film composition for coating tablets with enhanced adhesive force strength

Evaluation of pectin extractions and their application in the alkaline Maillard reaction

A 2³ factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of temperature, catalyst and time and esterification degree (DE) of pectin obtained from mango, orange and tangerine peels as well as tamarind seeds by using the acid hydrolysis method. The study showed that a high temperature positively influenced the percentage of pectin yield for the four second generation biomasses. Nevertheless, the temperature showed a greater influence in the solubility and diffusion of the acid solvent in the tamarind seed matrix, resulting a pectin recovery 32.9%. Concerning the %DE, the most statistically significant value observed was dependent on the type of biomass studied. The %DE and the nature of the pectin are determining factors in the pectin's final use, in the present work the pectin extracted was used to produce furfural, a precursor of high value chemicals. The furfural production was achieved through alkaline hydrolysis and enhanced using the Maillard reaction, reaching a maximum concentration of 71.8 g/L which represents a 42.1% increase from the alkaline hydrolysis.

Preparation and Characterization of Beads of Sodium Alginate/Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Cellulose Nanofiber Containing Porous Starch Embedded with Gallic Acid: An In Vitro Simulation Delivery Study

In this study, a system was designed that can encapsulate and deliver gallic acid (GA), which was composed of polysaccharide polymers based on sodium alginate (SA), carboxymethyl chitosan (CCT), and cellulose nanofibers (CN) and was assisted by porous starch. The compositions were characterized by rheology and zeta potentials, and the results showed that the materials used in this study could effectively guarantee the stability of the system. The morphology and chemical structure of the beads were characterized by SEM and FT-IR, the results indicated that the addition of CCT could effectively reduce the cracks and pores on the surface of the beads, which was beneficial to the encapsulation and delivery of GA. Moreover, the results of the swelling rate, release tests, and antioxidant tests also proved the effectiveness of the system. The pH response effect of SA/CN/CCT (SCC) beads and the protection of GA were superior, and the release rate of GA in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) was only 6.95%, while SA and SA/CN (SCN) beads reached 57.94% and 78.49%, respectively. In conclusion, the interpenetrating network polymers constructed by SA, CCT, and CN, which, combined with porous starch as a coating layer, can achieve the embedding and the delivery of GA.

The Use of Natural Materials in Film Coating for Controlled Oral Drug Release

BACKGROUND

Although synthetic materials have been used in film coating processes for drug delivery for many years, substantial studies on natural materials have also been conducted because of their biodegradable and unique properties.

METHODS

Because of the ability to form and modify films for controlled oral drug delivery, increasing attention has been shown to these materials in the design of film coating systems in recent research.

RESULTS

This review aims to provide an overview of natural materials focusing on film coating for oral delivery, specifically in terms of their classification and their combinations in film coating formulations for adjusting the desired properties for controlled drug delivery.

CONCLUSIONS

Discussing natural materials and their potential applications in film coating would benefit the optimization of processes and strategies for future utilization.

α-Gluco-oligosaccharide in the research and development of a polymeric material for modified drug delivery

This research aimed to analyse the influence of the incorporation of α-gluco-oligosaccharide (GOS-α) in the formation of isolated films of different combinations of polymethyl by applying physicochemical analyses such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Polymer films were prepared by evaporation associating Eudragit® RS30D with α-GOS. FTIR results confirmed the incorporation of α-GOS. The intermolecular interaction involving carbonyl and hydroxyl groups of Eudragit® with α-GOS was not detected. By TG and DSC, it was possible to detect that there were no changes in the thermal properties between the proposed combinations and the standard film. Upon SEM analysis, the appearance of pores for the association 90:10 was evidenced. Possibly, these pores act as output ports for the drug. These results sharpen the perspective of applying this material to the coating of pharmaceutical formulations of modified drug delivery.

Development of aprepitant loaded orally disintegrating films for enhanced pharmacokinetic performance

The present investigation was aimed to prepare orally disintegrating films (ODFs) containing aprepitant (APT), an antiemetic drug employing pullulan as film forming agent, tamarind pectin as wetting agent and liquid glucose as plasticizer and solubiliser. The ODFs were prepared using solvent casting method. The method was optimized employing 3(2) full factorial design considering proportion of pullulan: tamarind pectin and concentration of liquid glucose as independent variables and disintegration time, wetting time, folding endurance, tensile strength and extensibility as dependent variables. The optimized ODF was evaluated for various physicochemical, mechanical, drug release kinetics and bioavailability studies. The results suggested prepared film has uniform film surface, non-sticky and disintegrated within 18s. The in-vitro release kinetics revealed more than 87% aprepitant was released from optimized ODF as compared to 85%, 49%, and 12% aprepitant release from marketed formulation Aprecap, micronized aprepitant and non micronized aprepitant, respectively. The results of animal preference study indicated that developed aprepitant loaded ODFs are accepted by rabbits as food material. Animal pharmacokinetic (PK) study showed 1.80, 1.56 and 1.36 fold enhancement in relative bioavailability for aprepitant loaded ODF, Aprecap and micronized aprepitant respectively, in comparison with non-micronized aprepitant. Overall, the solubilised aprepitant when incorporated in the form of aprepitant loaded ODF showed enhanced bioavailability as compared to micronized/non-micronized aprepitant based oral formulations. These findings suggested that aprepitant loaded ODF could be effective for antiemesis during cancer chemotherapy.

Formulation optimization of aprepitant microemulsion-loaded silicated corn fiber gum particles for enhanced bioavailability

The present investigation was aimed at development of silicate corn fiber gum (SCFG) particles as superior solid carrier for the preparation of Aprepitant (APT)-loaded self-emulsifying powder (SEP) system. 2(4) D-optimal mixture design with three level process variables was employed to develop SCFG particles, utilizing flow descriptors and hydrophobicity descriptors as response variables. The results indicated that blending of CFG (51.4% w/w) and magnesium silicate (MS) (48.6% w/w) using freeze-drying technique was found to have highest desirability (0.904). The developed SEP showed highest oil desorbing capacity, low self-emulsification time and highest drug content. It was observed that SCFG-SEP (F2 formulation) showed lowest PDI (0.2445 ± 0.03) as well as smallest particle size (127 ± 5.8 nm). The droplets were uniform and maintain their integrity after reconstitution (TEM analysis). Furthermore, APT-loaded SEP showed enhanced in vitro dissolution (4 folds) and ex vivo performance (7-fold enhanced Papp) as compared to pure APT. Furthermore, in vivo pharmacokinetic study showed that significant enhancement (p > 0.05) in Cmax was evident with APT-loaded F2 (SCFG-SEP) (1.93-fold) and F4 (Aerosil 200-SEP) (1.58-fold). The data also suggested increase in absorption rate when APT incorporated into SCFG-SEP. Thus, findings pointed toward enhanced bioavailability of APT when loaded into SCFG particles. Overall, the developed SCFG particles could be considered as a better alternative to already available solid carrier(s).

Aprepitant loaded solid preconcentrated microemulsion for enhanced bioavailability: A comparison with micronized Aprepitant

Aprepitant (APT) is a lipophilic, poorly water soluble drug with moderate permeability characteristic. Therefore, we aimed to improve solubility as well as permeability that could possibly improve oral bioavailability of APT. For this purpose, Quality by design (QbD) approach employing simplex lattice mixture design was used to prepare solid preconcentrated microemulsion (S-PCM). Further, the software generated numerically optimized S-PCM formulations were developed by utilizing desirability function. The spectral attributes (powder X-ray diffraction, ATR-FTIR, and differential scanning calorimetry) of S-PCM formulations suggested that APT was present in amorphous form. The results of droplet size (150-180 nm), zeta potential (-13 to -15 mV), poly dispersity index (PDI) (0.211-0.238) and emulsification time (<1 min), of these S-PCM formulations (SP1, SP2 and SP3) suggested spherical shape morphology (Transmission electron microscopy) with thermodynamic stability. The comparison of in vitro/ex vivo behavior of S-PCM (SP1) with micronized and non-micronized formulations of APT suggested 2-fold and 5-fold enhancement in solubility and permeability, respectively. This was further evident from pharmacokinetic studies in rabbits that showed 1.5-fold enhancement in bioavailability of S-PCM with respect to micronized APT. Thus, it could be envisaged that development of S-PCM formulation of APT is the best alternative to micronization technology based APT formulations reported earlier.