Determinants of zero-order release kinetics from acetaminophen-layered Suglet® pellets, Wurster-coated with plasticized Aquacoat® ECD (ethyl cellulose dispersion)

Recent Advances in Sustainable Antimicrobial Food Packaging: Insights into Release Mechanisms, Design Strategies, and Applications in the Food Industry

In response to the issues of foodborne microbial contamination and carbon neutrality goals, sustainable antimicrobial food packaging (SAFP) composed of renewable or biodegradable biopolymer matrices with ecofriendly antimicrobial agents has emerged. SAFP offers longer effectiveness, wider coverage, more controllability, and better environmental performance. Analyzing SAFP information, including the release profile of each antimicrobial agent for each food, the interaction of each biomass matrix with each food, the material size, form, and preparation methods, and its service quality in real foods, is crucial. While encouraging reports exist, a comprehensive review summarizing these developments is lacking. Therefore, this review critically examines recent release-antimicrobial mechanisms, kinetics models, preparation methods, and key regulatory parameters for SAFPs based on slow- or controlled-release theory. Furthermore, it discusses fundamental physicochemical characteristics, effective concentrations, advantages, release approaches, and antimicrobial and preservative effects of various materials in food simulants or actual food. Lastly, inadequacies and future trends are explored, providing practical references to regulate the movement of active substances in different media, reduce the reliance on petrochemical-based materials, and advance food packaging and preservation technologies.

Levonorgestrel loaded biodegradable microparticles for injectable contraception: Preparation, characterization and modelling of drug release

The integration of mechanistic modeling and machine learning facilitates the understanding and engineering of drug release from controlled release systems. Here, we present hybrid models to predict the effect of drug loading on levonorgestrel release from spray-dried poly(L-lactic acid) microparticles. We developed three Monte Carlo methods that differ in the consideration of polymer's degradability and crystallinity, to simulate drug release from the matrices using the Python programming language. To build each method, we utilized data from the characterization of the particles, such as the actual drug content (ranges from 6% to 52%), size (Dv(50) ∼ 5 μm), and polymer crystallinity (ranges from 0% to 15%). We trained each method using drug release data from particles of 4 batches and derived appropriate machine learning models through regression analysis. Results indicate the contribution of drug diffusion and polymer degradation to drug release for particles of lower drug content (<20 %w/w). At higher drug loadings, particles encountered a combination of burst and diffusional release. We validated the predictive powers of the machine learning models by testing them against experimental data. This paper specifically highlights the power of hybrid modeling to engineer drug release for long-term contraception.

Simulation of pellet coating in Wurster coaters

A combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), discrete element method (DEM), and discrete droplet method (DDM), i.e., a CFD-DEM-DDM model, was developed to simulate coating of pellets in a Wurster coater. The model equations were implemented in parallel using an approach that uses the computational resources of both CPU and GPU. Effects of the gas flow pattern, inlet gas temperature, partition gap, and spray characteristics were studied on the process. Decreasing the peripheral gas velocity, increasing the central jet velocity, and reducing the partition gap caused more uniform distributions of the circulation time and draft tube time, while the inlet gas temperature had negligible effect on them. Very high jet velocity caused a wider distribution of the circulation time. The dynamics of the spray and its interaction with pellets had significant effects on the coating mass distribution. Widening the spray angle while maintaining the droplet size constant caused the most uniform coating mass distribution and the highest deposition rate. Heat and mass transfer conditions as well as the deposition pattern changed the distributions of the solvent content and temperature of the pellets.

Overcoming the paracetamol dose challenge with wrinkled mesoporous carbon spheres

Paracetamol is the most commonly used antipyretic and analgesic drug in the world. The key challenge in paracetamol therapy is associated with the frequency of the dosing. Depending on the gastric filling within 10-20 min paracetamol is released and rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it must be taken three or four times a day. To address the dose challenge it is desirable that the paracetamol release profile follows the zero-order kinetic model (constant rate of drug release per unit time). This goal can be achieved by using a suitable porous carrier system. Herein, non-toxic wrinkled mesoporous carbons with unique morphology were synthesized via the hard template method as new carriers for paracetamol. These particles can precisely modulate the release of paracetamol over 24 h in a simulated gastric fluid according to the zero-order kinetic model completely eliminating the initial burst release. Overall, these systems could significantly enhance the bioavailability of paracetamol and prolong its therapeutic effect in numerous diseases such as cold, flu, COVID-19, and severe pain.