Starch–dextrin mixtures as base excipients for extrusion–spheronization pellets

A review of emerging technologies enabling improved solid oral dosage form manufacturing and processing

Tablets are the most widely utilized solid oral dosage forms because of the advantages of self-administration, stability, ease of handling, transportation, and good patient compliance. Over time, extensive advances have been made in tableting technology. This review aims to provide an insight about the advances in tablet excipients, manufacturing, analytical techniques and deployment of Quality by Design (QbD). Various excipients offering novel functionalities such as solubility enhancement, super-disintegration, taste masking and drug release modifications have been developed. Furthermore, co-processed multifunctional ready-to-use excipients, particularly for tablet dosage forms, have benefitted manufacturing with shorter processing times. Advances in granulation methods, including moist, thermal adhesion, steam, melt, freeze, foam, reverse wet and pneumatic dry granulation, have been proposed to improve product and process performance. Furthermore, methods for particle engineering including hot melt extrusion, extrusion-spheronization, injection molding, spray drying / congealing, co-precipitation and nanotechnology-based approaches have been employed to produce robust tablet formulations. A wide range of tableting technologies including rapidly disintegrating, matrix, tablet-in-tablet, tablet-in-capsule, multilayer tablets and multiparticulate systems have been developed to achieve customized formulation performance. In addition to conventional invasive characterization methods, novel techniques based on laser, tomography, fluorescence, spectroscopy and acoustic approaches have been developed to assess the physical-mechanical attributes of tablet formulations in a non- or minimally invasive manner. Conventional UV-Visible spectroscopy method has been improved (e.g. fiber-optic probes and UV imaging-based approaches) to efficiently record the dissolution profile of tablet formulations. Numerous modifications in tableting presses have also been made to aid machine product changeover, cleaning, and enhance efficiency and productivity. Various process analytical technologies have been employed to track the formulation properties and critical process parameters. These advances will contribute to a strategy for robust tablet dosage forms with excellent performance attributes.

Melt-in-mouth pellets of fexofenadine hydrochloride using crospovidone as an extrusion-spheronisation aid

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is well established as an extrusion spheronisation aid for the preparation of pellets. Crospovidone (Polyplasdone XL-10) is compared with microcrystalline cellulose for the preparation of melt-in-mouth pellets. Taste-masked fexofenadine hydrochloride was incorporated in the melt-in-mouth formulation. Crospovidone was found to be well suited as extrusion-spheronisation aid for the preparation of melt-in-mouth pellets. The great advantage of crospovidone is, however, the disintegrating properties of the pellets after only a short time of exposure to liquid. Crospovidone was successfully employed as an extrusion-spheronisation aid to produce melt-in-mouth pellets obviating the need of a traditional extrusion-spheronisation aid, MCC. Dual properties of Crospovidone were explored viz. as an extrusion-spheronisation aid and a disintegrant.

Fast and Controlled Release of Triamcinolone Acetonide from Extrusion-Spheronization Pellets Based on Mixtures of Native Starch with Dextrin or Waxy Maize Starch

Pellets composed chiefly of inexpensive starches allow modulation of the rate of release of the poorly soluble drug triamcinolone acetonide in media of pH 1.2-6.8. Wheat- or maize-starch-based pellets with 20% of white dextrin release the drug in vitro almost completely within 20 min, while maize-starch-based pellets with 5-35% of waxy maize starch sustain gradual release over periods of 9-12 hr or longer when prepared using appropriate amounts of granulation fluid.

The use of beta-cyclodextrin in the manufacturing of disintegrating pellets with improved dissolution performances

It has recently been highlighted that the release behavior of pellets containing microcystalline cellulose (MCC) as the spheronizing agent may be impaired by the lack of disintegration. Although alternative spheronizing excipients have been proposed, their overall advantages have not thoroughly been assessed. In the present work, the possible use of beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) was therefore explored for the manufacturing of pellets with a potential for effective disintegration and immediate release of poorly soluble active ingredients. MCC/betaCD powder formulations containing no drug or model drugs with different water solubility, able to form inclusion compounds with the employed cyclodextrin, were pelletized by agglomeration in rotary fluid bed equipment. By applying successive statistical experimental designs, the most critical formulation and operating parameters were identified and optimal manufacturing processes were ultimately set up. High yields of pellets provided with satisfactory physical-technological characteristics were obtained using powder formulations with up to 80% betaCD. Based on dissolution testing results, the suitability of betaCD for the preparation of disintegrating MCC-containing pellets with improved dissolution performance was finally demonstrated.

Immediate release of poorly soluble drugs from starch-based pellets prepared via extrusion/spheronisation

The aim of this study was to evaluate modified starch (high-amylose, crystalline and resistant starch) as the main excipient for immediate-release pellets containing poorly soluble drugs (hydrochlorothiazide and piroxicam) and prepared via extrusion/spheronisation. The bioavailability of pellets (containing 50 mg hydrochlorothiazide) was determined after oral administration to 6 dogs. A 2(4)-factorial design with central point was used to evaluate the influence of hydrochlorothiazide (10% and 50%, w/w), HPMC (binder, 4% and 7%, w/w), sorbitol (0% and 10%, w/w) and water (granulation liquid, low and high level) on pellet yield, size (Feret mean diameter) and sphericity (aspect ratio and two-dimensional shape factor, eR). Optimal granulation liquid content depended on drug and sorbitol level in the formulation. All factors except sorbitol content, as well as the interactions between drug concentration and binder level and between drug and water level, were significant (P<0.05) for pellet yield, while a significant curvature (P<0.05) suggested non-linearity of the response plots. The model was not significant for pellet shape, while hydrochlorothiazide and water level as well as their interaction were significant (P<0.05) for pellet size. Pellet friability, disintegration, residual water content and in-vitro drug release were determined. Pellets containing 2.5% (w/w) piroxicam were also evaluated. For both model drugs, pellets with a high yield (>90%), acceptable sphericity (AR<1.2) and low friability (<0.01%) were obtained. Due to pellet disintegration, fast dissolution of both hydrochlorothiazide and piroxicam was achieved: >80% drug released in 30 min. The bioavailability (AUC0-->24 h, Cmax and tmax) of hydrochlorothiazide pellets in dogs was not significantly different from fast-disintegrating immediate-release hydrochlorothiazide tablets (P>0.05).

Water retention and drainage in different brands of microcrystalline cellulose: Effect of measuring conditions

Interaction between water and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) measured as retention and cumulative drainage of water (WR% and CDW%) is investigated for unmilled and micronized standard (Avicel and Emcocel) and silicified (Prosolv) MCC brands. A centrifuge method was applied with increasing duration and different porosity and thickness of cylindrical powder beds (specimens), in order to establish optimal determination conditions and quantify alterations in interaction between water and different MCC brands. Also, changes of specimen thickness due to presence of water (swelling) were followed. It was found that the effect of specimen porosity and thickness on water drainage (CDW%) appears to be opposite to that on water retention (WR%), while two patterns of WR% and CDW% change with specimen porosity and thickness can be distinguished depending on the centrifugation time. Also, WR% and CDW% are affected by the MCC brand and the micronization. Unmilled silicified MCC brand (Prosolv) shows significantly lower retention and higher drainage of water compared to standard unmilled brands (Avicel and Emcocel), while differences between the unmilled standard Avicel and Emcocel brands are not easily distinguished. Micronization, in general, increases greatly the WR% and decreases CDW% for all the tested MCC brands, and enhances their differences even between Avicel and Emcocel. Swelling of specimen due to presence of water was observed, which was significantly reduced with the micronization, the specimen porosity, and centrifugation as well, but showed slight variation between the different MCC brands. Values of specimen porosity between 60% and 70%, thickness/diameter ratio between 0.75 and 1.0, and centrifugation time between 5 and 20 min provide optimal measuring settings for comparison of MCC brands.