Development of pressure-sensitive dosage forms with a core liquefying at body temperature

Recent advances in cellulose, pectin, carrageenan and alginate-based oral drug delivery systems

Polymers-based drug delivery systems constitute one of the highly explored thrust areas in the field of the medicinal and pharmaceutical industries. In the past years, the properties of polymers have been modified in context to their solubility, release kinetics, targeted action site, absorption, and therapeutic efficacy. Despite the availability of diverse synthetic polymers for the bioavailability enhancement of drugs, the use of natural polymers is still highly recommended due to their easy availability, accessibility, and non-toxicity. The aim of the review is to provide the available literature of the last five years on oral drug delivery systems based on four natural polymers i.e., cellulose, pectin, carrageenan, and alginate in a concise and tabulated manner. In this review, most of the information is in tabulated form to provide easy accessibility to the reader. The data related to active pharmaceutical ingredients and supported components in different formulations of the mentioned polymers have been made available.

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of 3D Printed Capsules with Pressure Triggered Release Mechanism for Oral Peptide Delivery

In this study a 3D printed capsule designed to break from the physiological pressures in the antropyloric region was evaluated for its ability to deliver the synthetic octapeptide octreotide in beagle dogs when co-formulated with the permeation enhancer sodium caprate. The pressure sensitive capsules were compared to traditional enteric coated hard gelatin capsules and enteric coated tablets. Paracetamol, which is completely absorbed in dogs, was included in the formulations and used as an absorption marker to give information about the in vivo performance of the dosage forms. The pressure sensitive capsules released drug in 50% of the dogs. In the cases where drug was released, there was no difference in octreotide bioavailability or C_max compared to the enteric coated dosage forms. When comparing all dosage forms, a correlation was seen between paracetamol C_max and octreotide bioavailability, suggesting that a high drug release rate may be beneficial for peptide absorption when delivered together with sodium caprate.

Navigating the human gastrointestinal tract for oral drug delivery: Uncharted waters and new frontiers

Many concepts of oral drug delivery are based on our comprehension of human gastrointestinal physiology. Unfortunately, we tend to oversimplify the complex interplay between the various physiological factors in the human gut and, in particular, the dynamics of these transit conditions to which oral dosage forms are exposed. Recent advances in spatial and temporal resolution of medical instrumentation as well as improved access to these technologies have facilitated clinical trials to characterize the dynamic processes within the human gastrointestinal tract. These studies have shown that highly relevant parameters such as fluid volumes, dosage form movement, and pH values in the lumen of the upper GI tract are very dynamic. As a result of these new insights into the human gastrointestinal environment, some common concepts and ideas of oral drug delivery are no longer valid and have to be reviewed in order to ensure efficacy and safety of oral drug therapy.