Preparation and characterization of novel fast disintegrating capsules (Fastcaps) for administration in the oral cavity

Texture analysis – a versatile tool for pharmaceutical evaluation of solid oral dosage forms

In the past few decades, texture analysis (TA) has gained importance as a valuable method for the characterization of solid oral dosage forms. As a result, an increasing number of scientific publications describe the textural methods that evaluate the extremely diverse category of solid pharmaceutical products. Within the current work, the use of texture analysis in the characterization of solid oral dosage forms is summarised with a focus on the evaluation of intermediate and finished oral pharmaceutical products. Several texture methods are reviewed regarding the applications in mechanical characterization, and mucoadhesion testing, but also in estimating the disintegration time and in vivo specific features of oral dosage forms. As there are no pharmacopoeial standards for pharmaceutical products tested through texture analysis, and there are important differences between reported results due to different experimental conditions, the choice of testing protocol and parameters is challenging. Thereby, this work aims to guide the research scientists and quality assurance professionals involved in different stages of drug development into the selection of optimal texture methodologies depending on the product characteristics and quality control needs.

Design and optimization of silymarin loaded in lyophilized fast melt tablets to attenuate lung toxicity induced via HgCl2 in rats

The present study aimed to develop fast melting tablets (FMTs) using silymarin (SM) owing to FMTs rapid disintegration and dissolution. FMTs represent a pathway to help patients to increase their compliance level of treatment via facile administration without water or chewing beside reduction cost. One of the methods for FMTs formulation is lyophilization. Optimization of SM-FMTs was developed via a 3² factorial design. All prepared SM-FMTs were evaluated for weight variation, thickness, breaking force, friability, content uniformity, disintegration time (DT), and % SM released. The optimized FMT formula was selected based on the criteria of scoring the fastest DT and highest % SM released after 10 min (Q₁₀). Optimized FMT was subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) besides investigating its lung-protective efficacy. All SM-FMT tablets showed acceptable properties within the pharmacopeial standards. Optimized FMT (F7) scored a DT of 12.5 ± 0.64 Sec and % SM released at Q₁₀ of 82.69 ± 2.88%. No incompatibilities were found between SM and excipients, it showed a porous structure under SEM. The optimized formula decreased cytokines, up-regulated miRNA133a, and down-regulated miRNA-155 and COX-2 involved in the protection against lung toxicity prompted by HgCl₂ in a manner comparable to free SM at the same dosage.

Orally Fast Disintegrating Cyclodextrin/Prednisolone Inclusion-Complex Nanofibrous Webs for Potential Steroid Medications

Prednisolone is a widely used immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory drug type that suffers from low aqueous solubility and bioavailability. Due to the inclusion complexation with cyclodextrins (CDs), prednisolone's drawbacks that hinder its potential during the administration can be eliminated effectively. Here, we have early shown the electrospinning of free-standing nanofibrous webs of CD/prednisolone inclusion complexes (ICs) in the absence of a polymer matrix. In this study, hydroxypropyl-beta-CD (HPβCD) has been used to form ICs with prednisolone and generate nanofibrous webs with a drug loading capacity of ∼10% (w/w). Pullulan/prednisolone nanofibrous webs have been also fabricated as a control sample having the same drug loading (∼10%, w/w). It has been demonstrated that prednisolone has been found in an amorphous state in the HPβCD/prednisolone nanofibrous web due to inclusion complexation, while it has retained its crystal structure in the pullulan/prednisolone nanofibrous web. Therefore, the HPβCD/prednisolone IC nanofibrous web has shown a faster and enhanced release profile and superior disintegration feature in artificial saliva than the pullulan/prednisolone nanofibrous web. The complexation energy calculated using ab initio modeling displayed a more favorable interaction between HPβCD and prednisolone in the case of a molar ratio of 2:1 than 1:1 (CD: drug). Here, the HPβCD/prednisolone IC nanofibrous web has been developed without using a toxic component or solvent to dissolve drug molecules and boost drug loading in amorphous nature. The investigation of IC nanofibrous webs has been conducted to formulate a promising alternative to the orally disintegrating tablet formulation of prednisolone in the market. The nanofibrous structure and the improved physicochemical properties of prednisolone arising with the complexation might ensure a faster disintegration and onset of action against commercially available and orally disintegrating delivery systems during the desired treatment.

Core in Cup Ethylmorphine Hydrochloride Tablet for Dual Fast and Sustained Pain Relief: Formulation, Characterization, and Pharmacokinetic Study

Ethylmorphine hydrochloride (EtM) is a derivative of morphine used as analgesic to treat severe pain in case of cancer and bone injury. This study aimed to formulate and evaluate core in cup tablets containing 2 doses of EtM, the cup was formulated as lyophilized oro-dispersible tablet (ODT) for immediate release (IR), and the core was formulated as directly compressed tablet for sustained release (SR). Factorial design was adopted for the optimization of tablets prepared via lyophilized form and direct compression techniques: a 4¹.2² design was used for the former, while a 3² one was used for the latter. All prepared tablets showed acceptable physical properties which were in accordance with pharmacopeial standards. Two lyophilized ODTs (F9 and F10) formulae were selected as the cup for instant release. While one directly compressed tablet formula (S6) was selected based on the in vitro release profile to represent the sustained core, the outcome was 2 core in cup tablets, namely B1 and B2 which were evaluated for their in vivo absorption and showed a maximum plasma concentration (Cp_max) of 354.12 ± 17.55 ng/mL and 350.82 ± 12.15 ng/mL respectively attained after 3.0 h which were twofolds significantly higher in comparison to the market tablet with Cp_max of only 172.05 ± 12.53 ng/mL attained after 2.20 ± 0.24 h.

Development, Evaluation, and Pharmacokinetic Assessment of Polymeric Microarray Patches for Transdermal Delivery of Vancomycin Hydrochloride

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can cause harmful and potentially deadly infections. Vancomycin remains the first-line antibiotic treatment for MRSA-derived infections. Nevertheless, as a peptide drug, it is poorly absorbed when administered orally because of its high molecular weight and low permeability in the gastrointestinal tract and is therefore administered intravenously for the treatment of systemic diseases. In order to circumvent some of the many drawbacks associated with intravenous injection, other routes of drug delivery should be investigated. One of the strategies which has been employed to enhance transdermal drug delivery is based on microarray patches (MAPs). This work, for the first time, describes successful transdermal delivery of vancomycin hydrochloride (VCL) using dissolving MAPs (DMAPs) and hydrogel-forming MAPs (HFMAPs). VCL was formulated into DMAPs and reservoirs [film dosage forms, lyophilized wafers, and compressed tablets (CSTs)] using excipients such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(vinyl alcohol), sodium hyaluronate, d-sorbitol, and glycerol. In this study, HFMAPs were manufactured using aqueous blends containing poly(methylvinyl ether-co-maleic acid) cross-linked by esterification with poly(ethylene glycol). The VCL-loaded CSTs (60% w/w VCL) were the most promising reservoirs to be integrated with HFMAPs based on the physicochemical evaluations performed. Both HFMAPs and DMAPs successfully delivered VCL in ex vivo studies with the percentage of drug that permeated across the neonatal porcine skin recorded at 46.39 ± 8.04 and 7.99 ± 0.98%, respectively. In in vivo studies, the area under the plasma concentration time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC_0-∞) values of 162.04 ± 61.84 and 61.01 ± 28.50 μg h/mL were achieved following the application of HFMAPs and DMAPs, respectively. In comparison, the AUC_0-∞ of HFMAPs was significantly greater than that of the oral administration control group, which showed an AUC_0-∞ of 30.50 ± 9.18 μg h/mL (p < 0.05). This work demonstrates that transdermal delivery of VCL is feasible using DMAPs and HFMAPs and could prove effective in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by MRSA, such as skin and soft tissue infections, lymphatic-related infections, and neonatal sepsis.

Steam Explosion in alkaline medium for gelatine extraction from chromium-tanned leather wastes: time reduction and process optimization

Alkaline hydrolysis of chromium-tanned leather wastes (CTLW) is a well-known process that allows the extraction of its most valuable portion: the protein. However, alkaline hydrolysis is time-consuming. It usually takes from 2 to 10 h to be completed. In this work, alkaline hydrolysis was performed in a steam explosion reactor, using CaO as the alkalinizing agent and aiming at a short-time process. Three different temperatures and residence times were tested: 130, 140, and 150°C; 5, 10, and 15 min. When performed at 140°C for 10 min, the steam explosion in alkaline medium resulted in the optimum combination of protein extraction yield (30%) and gelatine quality (viscosity of 2.4 cP at 25°C in a 24.6 g/L protein solution - 39 kDa of molecular mass [Formula: see text]w). Not only a high extraction yield was achieved, but when compared to traditional methods, steam explosion in alkaline medium reduced the process time by a factor that varied from 12 to 36 times. It also reduced chromium content in the gelatine by a factor that varied from 16 to 96 times. Finally, to produce a high quality product, the ash content of the gelatine was reduced from 11.8% (dry basis) to 1.2% (dry basis) through diafiltration. This purification allows the application of the gelatine, for example, in the production of polymeric films.

Development of ferulic acid/cyclodextrin inclusion complex nanofibers for fast-dissolving drug delivery system

Production of electrospun nanofibrous mats of cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with the incorporation of drug molecules would enable promising designing of fast dissolving delivery systems (FDDS) for oral treatments. Here, the single-step electrospinning technique has been applied to prepare cyclodextrin inclusion complex nanofibrous mats (CD-IC NM) of ferulic acid from complete aqueous systems without using any polymeric matrix. The free-standing ferulic acid/CD-IC NM have been electrospun from two different modified cyclodextrin derivatives of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and hydroxypropyl-gamma-cyclodextrin (HP-γ-CD). The initial content of ferulic acid (1/1 ferulic acid/CD (molar ratio) and ~11% (w/w)) has been protected in case of both ferulic acid/CD-IC NM and so the electrospun nanofibrous mats have been fabricated by the ~100% loading efficiency. It has been detected from the in vitro release and disintegration tests that, the amorphous state of ferulic acid based on inclusion complex formation, and the highly porous feature and high surface area of nanofibrous mats have ensured the fast dissolution/release of ferulic acid and disintegration of nanofibrous mats into the liquid medium and artificial saliva. Herein, HP-γ-CD has formed inclusion complexes with ferulic acid more favorably than HP-β-CD and this has leaded to the existence of some un-complexed ferulic acid crystals in ferulic acid/HP-β-CD-IC NM while, ferulic acid has been completely complexed and is in amorphous state in ferulic acid/HP-γ-CD-IC NM. Furthermore, the thermal stability of ferulic acid has been enhanced as an inclusion complexation aid observed by the shift of thermal degradation temperature of ferulic acid from the range of ~120-200 °C to ~140-280 °C.

Use of sorbitol as pharmaceutical excipient in the present day formulations - issues and challenges for drug absorption and bioavailability

Sorbitol is a popular sugar alcohol which has been used as an excipient in formulations of various drugs. Although from a safety perspective the presence of sorbitol in drug formulations does not raise a concern, reports have emerged and these suggest that sorbitol in drug formulations may alter oral absorption and bioavailability of certain drugs. The focus of this article was to review the published literature of various drugs where pharmacokinetic data has been reported for the drug alone versus drug administered with sorbitol and provide perspectives on the pharmacokinetic findings. Interestingly, for BCS class I drugs such as theophylline, metoprolol, the oral absorption, and bioavailability were generally not affected by sorbitol. However, theophylline oral absorption and bioavailability were decreased when sustained release formulation was used in place of immediate release formulation. For drugs such as risperidone (BCS class II) and lamivudine and ranitidine (BCS class III), the solution formulations showed diminished oral bioavailability in presence of sorbitol, whereas cimetidine and acyclovir (BCS class III), did not show any changes in pharmacokinetic profiles due to sorbitol. Finally, the presence of activated charcoal with sorbitol showed different pharmacokinetic outcome for BCS class I and II drugs.

Design of taste masked enteric orodispersible tablets of diclofenac sodium by applying fluid bed coating technology

Diclofenac sodium (DS) a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug has a bitter taste and is a local stomach irritant. The aim of this study was to formulate taste masked DS orally dispersible tablets (ODTs) with targeted drug release in the intestine. Pellets of DS were designed using sugar sphere cores layered with DS followed by an enteric coat of Eudragit L100 and a second coat of Eudragit E100 for taste masking. The produced pellets had a high loading efficiency of 99.52% with diameters ranging from 493.7 to 638.9 µm. The prepared pellets were spherical with smooth surfaces on scanning electron microscopy examination. Pellets with the 12% enteric coat Eudragit L100 followed by 5% Eudragit E 100 resulted in 1.4 ± 0.5% DS release in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and complete dissolution in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). The pellets were then used to formulate ODTs. In vitro disintegration time of ODTs ranged from 20 ± 0.26 to 46 ± 0.27 s in simulated saliva fluid (SSF). Dissolution was less than 10% in SGF while complete drug release occurred in SIF. The release rate was higher for the optimized formulation (F12) in SIF than for the marketed product Voltaren® 25 mg tablets. The optimized ODTs formulation had a palatable highly acceptable taste.

Optimized furosemide taste masked orally disintegrating tablets

Optimized orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) containing furosemide (FUR) were prepared by direct compression method. Two factors, three levels (3²) full factorial design was used to optimize the effect of taste masking agent (Eudragit E100; X1) and superdisintegarant; croscarmellose sodium (CCS; X2) on tablet properties. A composite was prepared by mixing ethanolic solution of FUR and Eudragit E100 with mannitol prior to mixing with other tablet ingredients. The prepared ODTs were characterized for their FUR content, hardness, friability and wetting time. The optimized ODT formulation (F1) was evaluated in term of palatability parameters and the in vivo disintegration. The manufactured ODTs were complying with the pharmacopeia guidelines regarding hardness, friability, weight variation and content. Eudragit E100 had a very slightly enhancing effect on tablets disintegration. However, the effects of both Eudragit E100 (X1) and CCS (X2) on ODTs disintegration time (Y1) were insignificant (p > 0.05). Moreover, X1 exhibited antagonistic effect on the dissolution after 5 and 30 min (D5 and D30, respectively), but only its effect on D30 is significant (p = 0.0004). Furthermore, the optimized ODTs formula showed good to acceptable taste in term of palatability, and in vivo disintegration time of this formula was about 10 s.

Formulation of paracetamol-containing pastilles with in situ coating technology

The focus of this research was to apply the in situ coating technology for producing paracetamol- (PCT-) containing pastilles for paediatric use from a eutectic of two sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol) in one step. This type of melt-technology is more cost-efficient and simpler than other conventional tableting technologies, whereby the formation of the pastilles and their coating occur upon the same fabrication step. We managed to produce pastilles having a softer core and a harder, resistant shell in one cooling step. Adding polyethylene glycol (PEG) 2000 or 6000 to the PCT-containing eutectic, the dissolution rate of PCT could be considerably increased, especially when using PEG 2000, reaching equal dissolution characteristics both under mouth- and gastric-specific conditions. Distributions of the components within the pastilles have been determined by X-ray scattering and Raman spectroscopy. Physico-chemical parameters of the xylitol-sorbitol eutectic and their changes upon adding PCT and PEGs have been determined, and it has been revealed that xylitol and sorbitol form a new entity with a distinguished crystal structure. The significant changes in viscosity were explained and the interaction in the eutectic mixture was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The uniformity of the physical parameters of the pastilles (including size, weight and drug content) also demonstrates the feasibility of using the cost-efficient and simple one-step eutectic-cooling technology for manufacturing pastilles.

Sublingual fast dissolving niosomal films for enhanced bioavailability and prolonged effect of metoprolol tartrate

The aim of the present work was to prepare and evaluate sublingual fast dissolving films containing metoprolol tartrate-loaded niosomes. Niosomes were utilized to allow for prolonged release of the drug, whereas the films were used to increase the drug's bioavailability via the sublingual route. Niosomes were prepared using span 60 and cholesterol at different drug to surfactant ratios. The niosomes were characterized for size, zeta-potential, and entrapment efficiency. The selected niosomal formulation was incorporated into polymeric films using hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose E15 and methyl cellulose as film-forming polymers and Avicel as superdisintegrant. The physical characteristics (appearance, texture, pH, uniformity of weight and thickness, disintegration time, and palatability) of the prepared films were studied, in addition to evaluating the in vitro drug release, stability, and in vivo pharmacokinetics in rabbits. The release of the drug from the medicated film was fast (99.9% of the drug was released within 30 minutes), while the drug loaded into the niosomes, either incorporated into the film or not, showed only 22.85% drug release within the same time. The selected sublingual film showed significantly higher rate of drug absorption and higher drug plasma levels compared with that of commercial oral tablet. The plasma levels remained detectable for 24 hours following sublingual administration, compared with only 12 hours after administration of the oral tablet. In addition, the absolute bioavailability of the drug (ie, relative to intravenous administration) following sublingual administration was found to be significantly higher (91.06%±13.28%), as compared with that after oral tablet administration (39.37%±11.4%). These results indicate that the fast dissolving niosomal film could be a promising delivery system to enhance the bioavailability and prolong the therapeutic effect of metoprolol tartrate.

Investigation of the Viability, Adhesion, and Migration of Human Fibroblasts in a Hyaluronic Acid/Gelatin Microgel-Reinforced Composite Hydrogel for Vocal Fold Tissue Regeneration

The potential use of a novel scaffold biomaterial consisting of cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA)-gelatin (Ge) composite microgels is investigated for use in treating vocal fold injury and scarring. Cell adhesion integrins and kinematics of cell motion are investigated in 2D and 3D culture conditions, respectively. Human vocal fold fibroblast (hVFF) cells are seeded on HA-Ge microgels attached to a HA hydrogel thin film. The results show that hVFF cells establish effective adhesion to HA-Ge microgels through the ubiquitous expression of β1 integrin in the cell membrane. The microgels are then encapsulated in a 3D HA hydrogel for the study of cell migration. The cells within the HA-Ge microgel-reinforced composite hydrogel (MRCH) scaffold have an average motility speed of 0.24 ± 0.08 μm min(-1) . The recorded microscopic images reveal features that are presumably associated with lobopodial and lamellipodial cell migration modes within the MRCH scaffold. Average cell speed during lobopodial migration is greater than that during lamellipodial migration. The cells move faster in the MRCH than in the HA-Ge gel without microgels. These findings support the hypothesis that HA-Ge MRCH promotes cell adhesion and migration; thereby they constitute a promising biomaterial for vocal fold repair.

Preparation of Fast Dissolving Films for Oral Dosage from Natural Polysaccharides

Fast-dissolving films (FDFs) were prepared from natural polysaccharides, such as pullulan, without heating, controlling the pH, or adding other materials. The release profiles of model drugs from the films were investigated. In the absence of a drug, the casting method and subsequent evaporation of the solvent resulted in the polysaccharide forming a circular film. The presence of drugs (both their type and concentration) affected film formation. The thickness of the film was controllable by adjusting the concentration of the polysaccharide, and regular unevenness was observed on the surface of 2% pullulan film. All films prepared with polysaccharides readily swelled in dissolution medium, released the incorporated compound, and subsequently disintegrated. The release of dexamethasone from the films was complete after 15 min, although this release rate was slightly slower than that of pilocarpine or lidocaine. Therefore, FDFs prepared from polysaccharides could be promising candidates as oral dosage forms containing drugs, and would be expected to show drug dissolution in the oral cavity.

Enhanced enteric properties and stability of shellac films through composite salts formation

The objective of this study was to improve the properties of shellac by composite salts formation. The shellac samples were prepared in various salt forms by dissolving them with 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) and ammonium hydroxide (AMN) at various ratios of AMP:AMN. The results demonstrated that aqueous solubility of the shellac salts was improved as the ratio of AMP:AMN increased. The absorbance ratio of the FTIR peaks assigned to CO stretching of carboxylate and carboxylic acid (ABS1556/ABS1716) was increased with the increase of the AMP fraction, suggesting that the solubility enhancement was due to more ionization of AMP salts. Moisture adsorption studies indicated that shellac salts were more hygroscopic as AMP content increased. After storage at 40 degrees C, 75% RH, the acid value and insoluble solid of AMP salts were relatively constant even after storage of up to 180 days, suggesting that AMP should protect polymerization. The ABS1556/ABS1716 values of the shellac salts were rapidly decreased after storage, especially for those consisting of a high percentage of AMN. Thus, AMP should bind much tighter at the carboxylate binding site as compared with AMN, resulting in more solubility and stability. In conclusion, optimized shellac properties could be easily accomplished by composite salts formation.