Early Stage HIV Management and Reduction of Stavudine-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats by Experimentally Developed Biodegradable Nanoparticles

Is it advantageous to use quality by design (QbD) to develop nanoparticle-based dosage forms for parenteral drug administration?

Parenteral administration is one of the most commonly used drug delivery routes for nanoparticle-based dosage forms, such as lipid-based and polymeric nanoparticles. For the treatment of various diseases, parenteral administration include intravenous, subcutaneous, and intramuscular route. In drug development phase, multiparameter strategy with a focus on drug physicochemical properties and the specificity of the administration route is required. Nanoparticle properties in terms of size and targeted delivery, among others, are able to surpass many drawbacks of conventional dosage forms, but these unique properties can be a bottleneck for approval by regulatory authorities. Quality by Design (QbD) approach has been widely utilized in development of parenteral nanoparticle-based dosage forms. It fosters knowledge of product and process quality by involving sound scientific data and risk assessment strategies. A full and comprehensive investigation into the state of implementation and applications of the QbD approach in these complex drug products can highlight the gaps and challenges. In this review, the analysis of critical attributes and Design of Experiment (DoE) approach in different nanoparticulate systems, together with the proper utilization of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) applications are described. The essential of QbD approach for the design and development of nanoparticle-based dosage forms for delivery via parenteral routes is discussed thoroughly.

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Model of Gold Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery System for Stavudine Biodistribution

Computational modelling has gained attention for evaluating nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling provides a mechanistic approach for evaluating drug biodistribution. The aim of this work is to develop a specific PBPK model to simulate stavudine biodistribution after the administration of a 40 nm gold nanoparticle-based drug delivery system in rats. The model parameters used have been obtained from literature, in vitro and in vivo studies, and computer optimization. Based on these, the PBPK model was built, and the compartments included were considered as permeability rate-limited tissues. In comparison with stavudine solution, a higher biodistribution of stavudine into HIV reservoirs and the modification of pharmacokinetic parameters such as the mean residence time (MRT) have been observed. These changes are particularly noteworthy in the liver, which presents a higher partition coefficient (from 0.27 to 0.55) and higher MRT (from 1.28 to 5.67 h). Simulated stavudine concentrations successfully describe these changes in the in vivo study results. The average fold error of predicted concentrations after the administration of stavudine-gold nanoparticles was within the 0.5–2-fold error in all of the tissues. Thus, this PBPK model approach may help with the pre-clinical extrapolation to other administration routes or the species of stavudine gold nanoparticles.

Optimization and efficacy study of synergistic vincristine coloaded liposomal doxorubicin against breast and lung cancer

Aim: To improve the efficacy of poly-ethylene glycol (PEG)ylated liposomes coloaded with doxorubicin and vincristine against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: The combinatorial index of the drugs was established using the Chou-Talalay method in MDA-MB-231 and A549 cell lines. The most effective ratio was co-encapsulated in factorial design optimized nanoliposomes which were characterized for similarity to clinical standard and evaluated in vitro and in vivo for therapeutic efficacy. Results & conclusion: The formulation exhibited more than 95% co-encapsulation, a size of 95.74 ± 2.65 nm and zeta potential of -9.17 ± 1.19 mV while having no significant differences in physicochemical and biochemical characteristics as compared with the clinical standard. Efficacy evaluation studies showed significantly improved cytotoxicity and tumor regression compared with liposomal doxorubicin indicating improvement in efficacy against TNBC and NSCLC.

Synergistic co-loading of vincristine improved chemotherapeutic potential of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin against triple negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer

The current work aims to explore the biological characteristics of vincristine synergistic co-loading into pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in non-indicated modalities of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The combinatorial liposome prepared by active co-loading of the drugs against modified ammonium ion gradient exhibited 95% encapsulation of both drugs. The cellular uptake studies using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry showed significantly increased uptake of dual drug formulation as against liposomal doxorubicin. The co-loaded liposome formulation had significantly increased cell cycle arrest in G₂/M phase with subsequent apoptosis and reduced cell viability in both tumor cell lines than doxorubicin liposome. This carrier exhibited similar acute toxicity, pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution profiles with significant increase in tumor regression as compared to liposomal doxorubicin. These results indicate that co-encapsulation of vincristine into clinically used pegylated liposomal doxorubicin significantly improved in-vitro and in-vivo therapeutic efficacy against NSCLC and TNBC.

Therapeutic potential of andrographolide-loaded nanoparticles on a murine asthma model

Corticosteroids commonly prescribed in asthma show several side-effects. Relatively non-toxic andrographolide (AG) has an anti-asthmatic potential. But its poor bioavailability and short plasma half-life constrain its efficacy. To overcome them, we encapsulated AG in nanoparticle (AGNP) and evaluated AGNP for anti-asthmatic efficacy on murine asthma model by oral/pulmonary delivery. AGNP had 5.47% drug loading with a sustained drug release in vitro. Plasma and lung pharmacokinetic data showed predominantly improved AG-bioavailability upon AGNP administered orally/by pulmonary route. Cell numbers, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 levels in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid and serum IgE content were reduced significantly after administration of AGNP compared to free-AG treatment. AGNP-mediated suppression of NF-κβ was predominantly more compared to free-AG. Further, pulmonary route showed better therapeutic performance. In conclusion, AGNP effectively controlled mild and severe asthma and the pulmonary administration of AGNP was more efficacious than the oral route.

Regulating the alky chain length of fatty acid-didanosine prodrugs and evaluating its role in albumin binding

Rational design of prodrugs for efficient albumin binding shows distinct advantages in drug delivery in terms of drug availability, systemic circulation, and potential targeting effect. And fatty acids are good candidates due to their high affinity to albumin. However, how the alkyl chain length of fatty acids affects the binding dynamics between prodrugs and albumin, despite its importance, is still unclear. In the present study, three prodrugs of didanosine (DDI) and fatty acids were designed and synthesized to evaluate the effect of the alkyl chain length on prodrug-albumin binding process, including capric acid-didanosine (CA-DDI), myristic acid-didanosine (MA-DDI), and stearic acid-didanosine (SA-DDI). The binding dynamics between these prodrugs with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied by fluorometry, circular dichroism (CD), UV analysis, and molecular docking. It turned out that DDI itself showed poor binding affinity to BSA. In contrast, CA-DDI, MA-DDI, and SA-DDI demonstrated significantly improved binding affinity. Interestingly, the binding affinity between DDI prodrugs and BSA was correlated with the alkyl chain length of fatty acids, and the binding constant significantly increased with the extension of alkyl chain length (K_CA-DDI = 5.86 × 103 M^-1, K_MA-DDI = 8.57 × 103 M^-1, and K_SA-DDI = 11.42 × 103 M^-1 at 298 K).

Methotrexate Aspasomes Against Rheumatoid Arthritis: Optimized Hydrogel Loaded Liposomal Formulation with In Vivo Evaluation in Wistar Rats

Aspasomes of methotrexate with antioxidant, ascorbyl palmitate, were developed and optimized using factorial design by varying parameters such as lipid molar ratio, drug to lipid molar ratio, and type of hydration buffer for transdermal delivery for disease modifying activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aspasomes were characterized by drug-excipients interaction, particle size analysis, determination of zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and surface properties. The best formulation was loaded into hydrogel for evaluation of in vitro drug release and tested in vivo against adjuvant induced arthritis model in wistar rats, by assessing various physiological, biochemical, hematological, and histopathological parameters. Optimized aspasome formulation exhibited smooth surface with particle size 386.8 nm, high drug loading (19.41%), negative surface potential, and controlled drug release in vitro over 24 h with a steady permeation rate. Transdermal application of methotrexate-loaded aspasome hydrogel for 12 days reduced rat paw diameter (21.25%), SGOT (40.43%), SGPT (54.75%), TNFα (33.99%), IL β (34.79%), cartilage damage (84.41%), inflammation (82.37%), panus formation (84.38%), and bone resorption (80.52%) as compared to arthritic control rats. Free methotrexate-treated group showed intermediate effects. However, drug-free aspasome treatment did not show any effect. The experimental results indicate a positive outcome in development of drug-loaded therapeutically active carrier system which presents a non-invasive controlled release transdermal formulation with good drug loading, drug permeation rate, and having better disease modifications against RA than the free drug, thereby providing a more attractive therapeutic strategy for rheumatoid disease management.