Ionic Liquids: New Forms of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients with Unique, Tunable Properties

This Review aims to summarize advances over the last 15 years in the development of active pharmaceutical ingredient ionic liquids (API-ILs), which make up a prospective game-changing strategy to overcome multiple problems with conventional solid-state drugs, for example, polymorphism. A critical part of the present Review is the collection of API-ILs and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) prepared to date. The Review covers rules for rational design of API-ILs and tools for API-IL formation, syntheses, and characterization. Nomenclature and ionic speciation, and the confusion that these may cause, are highlighted, particularly for speciation in both ILs and DESs of intermediate ionicity. We also highlight in vivo and in vitro pharmaceutical activity studies, with differences in pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic depending on ionicity of API-ILs. A brief overview is provided for the ILs used to deliver drugs, and the Review concludes with key prospects and roadblocks in translating API-ILs into pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Effect of cell size distribution on mechanical properties of strawberry fruit tissue

Strawberry fruit are high value, but also perishable products, because of their soft texture. Better insight on the strawberry mechanics are requested for understanding postharvest decay due to bruising. To gain data on the volumetric cell size distribution of strawberry tissue capturing the volume of 10 * 5 * 5 mm, fruit cells were suspended in 0.3 M mannitol solution. Cell size of 'Flair', 'Malwina', and 'Sonata' strawberry fruit, each in three commercially marketed ripeness stages (N = 135), was measured with particle size analyzer based on laser light scattering density analysis (LSD). The strawberry cell size distribution showed a wide range from 30-500 µm with frequency peak between 200 and 240 µm. The cell size of 'Flair' and 'Malwina' was smaller compared to 'Sonata' strawberry fruit. The volumetric cell size distribution obtained by LSD was correlated to microscopy results (R² = 0.97-0.99) obtained on single cells (N = 1215), indicating that LSD can be used for measuring the percentages of different cell size ranges of volumetric fruit sample. The three ripeness stages were classified with Gaussian Naïve Bayes approach considering absorption coefficient of anthocyanins at 405 nm (GNBa) and percentage frequency of peak cell size (GNBc). For GNBa classes, ripening stage showed no interaction with failure stress, strain, and elastic modulus. Considering GNBc classes, the failure stress and elastic modulus of strawberry tissue increased with enhanced percentage frequency of peak cell size for all three cultivars. An enhanced percentage frequency of large cells resulted in increased susceptibility of the strawberry tissue. Overall, this study showed that LSD cell size distribution data from a volumetric tissue sample are related to fruit tissue mechanics, which is conducive to a better analysis of the actual stress and damage problems of strawberry fruit tissue specimens during compression in supply chain processes.

Formulation and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of a Drug-in-Adhesive Patch for Transdermal Delivery of Koumine

The aim of this study was to develop a suitable drug-in-adhesive patch for transdermal delivery of koumine. Acrylic polymer Duro-Tak® 87-4287, which contains hydroxyl groups, may significantly enhance the skin permeation of koumine from transdermal patches containing 0.93-3.72% koumine. Among permeation enhancers, 10% azone showed the greatest potential and increased the flux of koumine to 1.48-fold that of the control. Therefore, an optimized patch formulation containing 3.72% koumine and 10% azone in Duro-Tak® 87-4287 that offers good physical properties was selected for an in vivo pharmacokinetic study using rats. The maximal plasma drug concentration (C_max) of koumine after transdermal administration (4 mg/patch) was 25.80 ± 1.51 ng/mL, which was in the range of those after oral administration (3 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg). The time to the maximal concentration (T_max) and the half-life (t_1/2) of the drug with transdermal administration were 3.96 ± 0.46 h and 21.10 ± 1.36 h, respectively, which were longer than those with oral administration. Furthermore, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC_0-72 h) of 898.20 ± 45.57 ng·h/mL for the transdermal patch was much higher than that for oral administration (15 mg/kg). In conclusion, the drug-in-adhesive patch containing koumine provides a steady plasma koumine level and sustained release in vivo and can be an effective means of transdermal delivery for koumine.