Effect of PEG6000 on the In Vitro and In Vivo Transdermal Permeation of Ondansetron Hydrochloride from EVA1802 Membranes

Cellulose ether and carbopol 971 based gastroretentive controlled release formulation design, optimization and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of ondansetron hydrochloride minitablets

This study aims to design and optimize ondansetron (OND) gastro-retentive floating minitablets for better and prolonged control of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) with improved patient compliance. Minitablets were directly compressed and encapsulated in a size 2 capsule shell with an overall dose of 24 mg. Central composite design (CCD) was applied keeping one cellulose ether derivative HPMC K15M and Carbopol 971 as variable and used as swelling and rate retarding agents. The other cellulose derivative i.e. sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, along with mannitol, sodium bicarbonate, and talc, were used in fixed quantities. The floating lag time, total floating time, swelling index, in-vitro drug release, and zero-order (RSQ value), were critical quality parameters. The optimized formulation (Fpred) was evaluated for all critical parameters, along with surface morphology, thermal stability, chemical interaction, and accelerated stability. The in silico PBPK modeling was applied to compare the bioavailability of Fpred with reference OND immediate-release tablets. The numerical optimization model predicted >90 % drug release with zero-order at 12 h. In silico PBPK modeling revealed comparable relative bioavailability of Fpred with the reference formulation. The gastroretentive floating minitablets of OND were successfully designed for prolonged emesis control in patients receiving chemotherapeutic agents.

Enhanced transdermal delivery of ondansetron using nanovesicular systems: Fabrication, characterization, optimization and ex-vivo permeation study-Box-Cox transformation practical example

This study aimed to formulate suitable nanovesicles (NVs) for transdermal delivery of Ondansetron. It also illustrated a practical example for the importance of Box-Cox transformation. A 2³ full factorial design was used to enable testing transfersomes, ethosomes, and transethosomes of Ondansetron simultaneously. The independent variables (IVs) studied were sodium taurocholate amount, ethanol volume in hydration medium and sonication time. The studied dependent variables (DVs) were: particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP) and entrapment efficiency (EE). Polynomial equations were used to study the influence of IVs on each DV. Numerical multiple response optimization was applied to select an optimized formula (OF) with the goals of minimizing PS and maximizing ZP absolute value and EE. Box-Cox transformation was adopted to enable modeling PS raised to the power of 1.2 with an excellent prediction R² of 1.000. ZP and EE were adequately represented directly with prediction R² of 0.9549 and 0.9892 respectively. Response surface plots helped in explaining the influence of IVs on each DV. Two-sided 95% prediction interval test and percent deviation of actual values from predicted ones proved the validity of the elucidated models. The OF was a transfersomal formula with desirability of 0.866 and showed promising results in ex-vivo permeation study.

Optimization and characterization of chitosan films for transdermal delivery of ondansetron

The aim of this study was to develop novel transdermal films of ondansetron HCl with high molecular weight chitosan as matrix polymer and 2-(2-ethoxy-ethoxy) ethanol (Transcutol®) as plasticizer. In this context, firstly the physicochemical properties of gels used to formulate transdermal films were characterized and, physicochemical properties and bioadhesiveness of the transdermal films prepared with chitosan gels were assessed. The impact of three different types of terpenes, namely limonene, nerolidol and eucalyptol on in vitro skin permeation of ondansetron from transdermal films were also examined. ATR-FTIR measurements were performed to investigate the effects of the chitosan film formulations on in vitro conformational order of stratum corneum intercellular lipids after 24 h permeation study. The results showed that the chitosan gels consisting of Transcutol® as plasticizer and terpenes as penetration enhancer may be used to prepare transdermal films of ondansetron due to the good mechanical properties and bioadhesiveness of the transdermal films. Eucalyptol (1%) showed higher permeation enhancer effect than the other terpenes and control. ATR-FTIR data confirmed that finding in which eucalyptol induced a blue shift in the both CH₂ asymmetric and symmetric absorbance peak positions indicating increased lipid fluidity of stratum corneum.

Nasal route: an alternative approach for antiemetic drug delivery

INTRODUCTION

Antiemetic drugs are used in the treatment of nausea and emesis. Development of novel delivery systems for antiemetic drugs, as an alternative to conventional preparations, is important in terms of good patient compliance and improving bioavailability. The nasal route offers unique superiorities, such as fast and high drug absorption, and high patient compliance. Therefore, a considerable amount of research has been carried out on the development of nasal delivery systems for antiemetic drugs.

AREAS COVERED

This review deals with the importance of nasal delivery of antiemetic drugs and the studies performed on this subject. The first part of this review summarizes the properties of the nasal route, its advantages and limitations, parameters affecting drug absorption through nasal mucosa, nasal passage pathways and general approaches to improve nasal transport. The second part reviews the studies conducted on the development of nasal delivery systems.

EXPERT OPINION

Due to its superiorities, the nasal route could be considered as an attractive alternative to oral and parenteral routes. To overcome the barrier properties of the nasal epithelium and to enhance transport of antiemetic drugs, several approaches, including permeation enhancers, in situ gel formulations and micro- and nanoparticulate systems, have been evaluated. The results obtained are promising and indicate that nasal formulations of some antiemetic drugs may enter the market in the near future.

Enantioselective penetration enhancing effect of carvone on the in vitro transdermal permeation of nicorandil

The objective was to investigate the difference in penetration enhancing effect of R-carvone, S-carvone and RS-carvone on the in vitro transdermal drug permeation. In vitro permeation studies were carried out across neonatal rat epidermis from 2%w/v HPMC (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose) gel containing 4%w/v of nicorandil (a model drug) and a selected concentration (12%w/v) of either R-carvone, S-carvone or RS-carvone against a control. The stratum corneum (SC) of rats was treated with vehicle (70%v/v ethanol-water) or ethanolic solutions of 12%w/v R-carvone, S-carvone or RS-carvone. The enhancement ratio (ER) of R-carvone, S-carvone and RS-carvone when compared to control was about 37.1, 31.2 and 29.9, respectively indicating enantioselective penetration enhancing effect of carvone enantiomers. Furthermore, there was a significant decrease in the lag time required to produce a steady-state flux of nicorandil with S-carvone when compared to R-carvone and RS-carvone. DSC and FT-IR studies indicate that the investigated enantiomers of carvone exhibit a difference in their ability to affect the cellular organization of SC lipids and proteins thereby showing enantioselective transdermal drug permeation. It was concluded that R-carvone exhibited a higher penetration enhancing activity on transdermal permeation of nicorandil when compared to its S-isomer or racemic mixture.