A laser monitoring technique for solubility study of ketoconazole in propylene glycol and 2-propanol mixtures at various temperatures

Comparative Drug Solubility Studies Using Shake-Flask Versus a Laser-Based Robotic Method

Drug solubility is of central importance to the pharmaceutical sciences, but reported values often show discrepancies. Various factors have been discussed in the literature to account for such differences, but the influence of manual testing in comparison to a robotic system has not been studied adequately before. In this study, four expert researchers were asked to measure the solubility of four drugs with various solubility behaviors (i.e., paracetamol, mesalazine, lamotrigine, and ketoconazole) in the same laboratory with the same instruments, method, and material sources and repeated their measurements after a time interval. In addition, the same solubility data were determined using an automated laser-based setup. The results suggest that manual testing leads to a handling influence on measured solubility values, and the results were discussed in more detail as compared to the automated laser-based system. Within the framework of unavoidable uncertainties of solubility testing, it is a possibility to combine minimal experimental testing that is preferably automated with mathematical modeling. That is a practical suggestion to support future pharmaceutical development in a more efficient way.

Preferential Solvation Study of Rosuvastatin in the {PEG400 (1) + Water (2)} Cosolvent Mixture and GastroPlus Software-Based In Vivo Predictions

Rosuvastatin (RST) is a poorly water-soluble drug responsible for limited in vivo dissolution and subsequently low oral systemic absorption (poor bioavailability). The mole fraction solubility values of RST in various ratios of binary mixtures "{PEG400 (1) + water (2)}" at 298.15 K were employed to investigate the preferential solvation (PS) of RST (3) by the binary components. Moreover, the GastroPlus program predicted the drug dissolution/absorption rates, plasma drug concentration, and compartmental regional drug absorbed from a conventional tablet as compared to the RST-loaded (PEG400 + water) mixture (at x ₁ = 0.5) in healthy subjects (considering the fast condition). Fedors' method was adopted to estimate the values of molar volume (314.8 cm³·mol^-1) and Hildebrand solubility parameter (28.08 MPa^1/2) of RST. The results of inverse Kirkwood-Buff integrals showed the PS of RST by PEG400 as observed in all studied ratios of the binary mixture. The highest PS value (δx _1,3 = 1.65 × 10^-2) for RST by PEG400 was attained at x ₁ = 0.5. Finally, the GastroPlus program predicted the maximum dissolution rate [20 mg within 15 min as compared to pure RST (1.5 mg within 15 min)]. Moreover, the program predicted increased in vivo oral absorption (1.2 μg/mL) and enhanced regional absorption (95.3%) of RST from upper segments of the gastrointestinal tract for the RST-loaded PEG400 + water mixture in humans as compared to conventional tablets (87.5% as total regional absorption and 0.88 μg/mL as in vivo absorption). Hence, the present binary system ferrying RST can be a promising strategy to control systemic dyslipidemia after oral or subcutaneous administration.

Experimental Solubility of Ketoconazole, Validation Models, and In vivo Prediction in Human Based on GastroPlus

The study aimed to identify a suitable cosolvent + water mixture for subcutaneous (sub-Q) delivery of ketoconazole (KETO). The solubility was assessed for several dimethyl acetamide (DMA) + water mixtures at T = 293.2 to 318.2 K and pressure P = 0.1 MPa. The experimental solubility (x_e) was validated using the Van 't Hoff and Yalkowsky models and functional thermodynamic parameters (enthalpy Δ_solH°, entropy Δ_solS°, and Gibbs free energy Δ_solG°). The in vitro drug release study was performed at physiological pH, and the data served as the input to GastroPlus, which predicted the in vivo performance of KETO dissolved in a DMA + water cosolvent mixture for sub-Q delivery in human. The maximum solubility (mole fraction) of KETO (9.81 × 10^-1) was obtained for neat DMA at 318.2 K whereas the lowest value (1.7 × 10^-5) was for pure water at 293.2 K. An apparent thermodynamic analysis based on x_e gave positive values for the functional parameters. KETO dissolution requires energy, as evidenced by the high positive values of Δ_solH° and Δ_solG°. Interestingly, Δ_solG° progressively decreased with increasing concentration of DMA in the DMA + water mixture, suggesting that the DMA-based molecular interaction improved the solubilization. Positive values of Δ_solG° and Δ_solS° for each DMA + water cosolvent mixture corroborated the endothermic and entropy-driven dissolution. GastroPlus predicted better absorption of KETO through sub-Q delivery than oral delivery. Hence, the DMA + water mixture may be a promising system for sub-Q delivery of KETO to control topical and systemic fungal infections.