Preparation of irbesartan composite microparticles by supercritical aerosol solvent extraction system for dissolution enhancement

Solubility measurement of verapamil for the preparation of developed nanomedicines using supercritical fluid

A static method is employed to determine the solubilities of verapamil in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) at temperatures between 308 and 338 K and pressures between 12 and 30 MPa. The solubility of verapamil in SC-CO2 expressed as mole fraction are in the range of 3.6 × 10-6 to 7.14 × 10-5. Using four semi-empirical density-based models, the solubility data are correlated: Chrastil, Bartle, Kumar-Johnston (K-J), and Mendez-Santiago and Teja (MST), two equations of state (SRK and PC-SAFT EoS), expanded liquid models (modified Wilson's models), and regular solution model. The obtained results indicated that the regular solution and PC-SAFT models showed the most noteworthy exactness with AARD% of 1.68 and 7.45, respectively. The total heat, vaporization heat, and solvation heat of verapamil are calculated at 39.62, 60.03, and - 20.41 kJ/mol, respectively. Regarding the poor solubility of verapamil in SC-CO2, supercritical anti-solvent methods can be an appropriate choice to produce fine particles of this drug.

Review of industrially recognized polymers and manufacturing processes for amorphous solid dispersion based formulations

Evolving therapeutic landscape through combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening have resulted in an increased number of poorly soluble drugs. Drug delivery strategies quickly adapted to convert these drugs into successful therapies. Amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) technology is widely employed as a drug delivery strategy by pharmaceutical industries to overcome the challenges associated with these poorly soluble drugs. The development of ASD formulation requires an understanding of polymers and manufacturing techniques. A review of US FDA-approved ASD-based products revealed that only a limited number of polymers and manufacturing technologies are employed by pharmaceutical industries. This review provides a comprehensive guide for the selection and overview of polymers and manufacturing technologies adopted by pharmaceutical industries for ASD formulation. The various employed polymers with their underlying mechanisms for solution-state and solid-state stability are discussed. ASD manufacturing techniques, primarily implemented by pharmaceutical industries for commercialization, are presented in Quality by Design (QbD) format. An overview of novel excipients and progress in manufacturing technologies are also discussed. This review provides insights to the researchers on the industrially accepted polymers and manufacturing technology for ASD formulation that has translated these challenging drugs into successful therapies.

Exploring the Solubility and Bioavailability of Sodium Salt and Its Free Acid Solid Dispersions of Dolutegravir

Amorphous salt solid dispersion (ASSD) of Dolutegravir amorphous salt (DSSD) was generated using quench cooling and compared to its Dolutegravir free acid solid dispersion (DFSD) to improve the solubility and bioavailability. Soluplus (SLP) was used as a polymeric carrier in both solid dispersions. The prepared DSSD and DFSD, physical mixtures, and individual compounds were characterized by employing DSC, XRPD, and FTIR to assess the formation of the single homogenous amorphous phase and the existence of intermolecular interactions. Partial crystallinity was observed for DSSD, unlike DFSD, which is completely amorphous. No intermolecular interactions were observed between the Dolutegravir sodium (DS)/Dolutegravir free acid (DF) and SLP from the FTIR spectra of DSSD and DFSD. Both DSSD and DFSD improved the solubility of Dolutegravir (DTG) to 5.7 and 4.54 folds compared to the pure forms. Similarly, drug release from DSSD and DFSD was 2 and 1.5 folds higher than that in the pure form, owing to the rapid dissolution of the drug from the formulations. The permeability of DSSD and DFSD was estimated using the dialysis membrane, which enhanced the DTG permeability. The improvement in in vitro studies was translated into in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles of DSSD and DFSD, where 4.0 and 5.6 folds, respectively, improved the C_max of DTG.

Understanding the Effect of Energy Density and Formulation Factors on the Printability and Characteristics of SLS Irbesartan Tablets-Application of the Decision Tree Model

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a rapid prototyping technique for the production of three-dimensional objects through selectively sintering powder-based layer materials. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of energy density (ED) and formulation factors on the printability and characteristics of SLS irbesartan tablets. The correlation between formulation factors, ED, and printability was obtained using a decision tree model with an accuracy of 80%. FT-IR results revealed that there was no interaction between irbesartan and the applied excipients. DSC results indicated that irbesartan was present in an amorphous form in printed tablets. ED had a significant influence on tablets’ physical, mechanical, and morphological characteristics. Adding lactose monohydrate enabled faster drug release while reducing the possibility for printing with different laser speeds. However, formulations with crospovidone were printable with a wider range of laser speeds. The adjustment of formulation and process parameters enabled the production of SLS tablets with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose with complete release in less than 30 min. The results suggest that a decision tree could be a useful tool for predicting the printability of pharmaceutical formulations. Tailoring the characteristics of SLS irbesartan tablets by ED is possible; however, it needs to be governed by the composition of the whole formulation.

Supercritical fluid (SCF)-assisted fabrication of carrier-free drugs: An eco-friendly welcome to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)

Despite the success in developing various pharmaceutical formulations, most of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)/drugs, according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), often suffer from various intrinsic limitations of solubility and permeability, substantially hindering their bioavailability in vivo. Regardless of the fact that the availability of different particle fabrication approaches (top-down and bottom-up) towards pharmaceutical manufacturing, the supercritical fluid (SCF) technology has emerged as one of the highly effective substitutes due to the environmentally benign nature and processing convenience, as well as the economically promising character of SCFs. The exceptional features of SCFs have endowed the fabrication of various APIs either solely or in combination with the compatible supramolecular species towards achieving improved drug delivery. Operating such APIs in high-pressure conditions often results in arbitrary-sized particulate forms, ranging from micron-sized to sub-micron/nano-sized particles. Comparatively, these SCF-processed particles offer enhanced tailorable physicochemical and morphological properties (size, shape, and surface), as well as improved performance efficacy (bioavailability and therapy) over the unprocessed APIs. Although the "carrier-based" delivery is practical among diverse delivery systems, the direct fabrication of APIs into suitable particulate forms, referred to as "carrier-free" delivery, has increased attention towards improving the bioavailability and conveying a high payload of the APIs. This review gives a comprehensive emphasis on the SCF-assisted fabrication of diverse APIs towards exploring their great potential in drug delivery. Initially, we discuss various challenges of drug delivery and particle fabrication approaches. Further, different supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂)-based fabrication approaches depending on the character of SCFs are explicitly described, highlighting their advantages and suitability in processing diverse APIs. Then, we provide detailed insights on various processing factors affecting the properties and morphology of SCF-processed APIs and their pharmaceutical applications, emphasizing their performance efficacy when administered through multiple routes of administration. Finally, we summarize this compilation with exciting perspectives based on the lessons learned so far and moving forward in terms of challenges and opportunities in the scale-up and clinical translation of these drugs using this innovative technology.

Overview of Extensively Employed Polymeric Carriers in Solid Dispersion Technology

Solid dispersion is the preferred technology to prepare efficacious forms of BCS class-II/IV APIs. To prepare solid dispersions, there exist a wide variety of polymeric carriers with interesting physicochemical and thermochemical characteristics available at the disposal of a formulation scientist. Since the advent of the solid dispersion technology in the early 1960s, there have been more than 5000 scientific papers published in the subject area. This review discusses the polymeric carrier properties of most extensively used polymers PVP, Copovidone, PEG, HPMC, HPMCAS, and Soluplus® in the solid dispersion technology. The literature trends about preparation techniques, dissolution, and stability improvement are analyzed from the Scopus® database to enable a formulator to make an informed choice of polymeric carrier. The stability and extent of dissolution improvement are largely dependent upon the type of polymeric carrier employed to formulate solid dispersions. With the increasing acceptance of transfer dissolution setup in the research community, it is required to evaluate the crystallization/precipitation inhibition potential of polymers under dynamic pH shift conditions. Further, there is a need to develop a regulatory framework which provides definition and complete classification along with necessarily recommended studies to characterize and evaluate solid dispersions.