Formulation and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of film-coated montelukast sodium tablets using Opadry® yellow 20A82938 on an industrial scale

Studying the dissolution of immediate release film coating using terahertz pulsed imaging

Coated tablets introduce complexity to the dissolution process, even with readily soluble immediate release coating layers. Therefore, a more detailed understanding of the physical steps involved in the dissolution process can improve the efficiency of formulation and process design. The current study uses terahertz pulsed imaging to visualise the hydration process of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) tablet cores that were film coated with an immediate release coating formulation upon exposure to the dissolution medium. Film coated tablets that were prepared from three levels of core porosity (10%, 20% and 30%) and with coating thickness in the range of 30μm to 250μm were investigated. It was possible to resolve and quantify the distinct stages of wetting of the coating layer, swelling of the MCC particles at the core surface, and dissolution of the coating layer followed by the ingress of dissolution media into the tablet core. The liquid transport process through the coating layer was highly consistent and scalable. The penetration rate through the coating layer and the tablet core both strongly depended on coating thickness and core porosity.

A Comprehensive Review on Pharmaceutical Film Coating: Past, Present, and Future

Pharmaceutical film coating is considered a key part in the production of solid pharmaceutical dosage forms since it gives superior organoleptic properties products. In addition, it can improve the physical and chemical stability of dosage forms, and modify the release characteristics of the drug. Several troubleshooting problems such as twinning mottling, chipping, etc., may arise during or after or even during the shelf life of the film coated dosage forms. These troubleshooting problems may be due to tablet core faults, coating formulation faults and/or coating process faults. These problems must be overcome to avoid unnecessary product problems. Film coating as well as other parts of the pharmaceutical technology is subjecting to continuous innovation. The innovation may be at different levels including pharmaceutical excipients, processes, software, guidelines and equipment. In fact, of particular note is the growing interest in process analytical technology, quality by design, continuous coating processing and the inclusion of new ready for use coating formulations. In this review, we tried to explore and discuss the status of pharmaceutical film coating, the challenges that face this manufacturing process and the latest technological advances in this important manufacturing process.

A Scale-up Approach for Film Coating Process Based on Surface Roughness as the Critical Quality Attribute

Scale-up approaches for film coating process have been established for each type of film coating equipment from thermodynamic and mechanical analyses for several decades. The objective of the present study was to establish a versatile scale-up approach for film coating process applicable to commercial production that is based on critical quality attribute (CQA) using the Quality by Design (QbD) approach and is independent of the equipment used. Experiments on a pilot scale using the Design of Experiment (DoE) approach were performed to find a suitable CQA from surface roughness, contact angle, color difference, and coating film properties by terahertz spectroscopy. Surface roughness was determined to be a suitable CQA from a quantitative appearance evaluation. When surface roughness was fixed as the CQA, the water content of the film-coated tablets was determined to be the critical material attribute (CMA), a parameter that does not depend on scale or equipment. Finally, to verify the scale-up approach determined from the pilot scale, experiments on a commercial scale were performed. The good correlation between the surface roughness (CQA) and the water content (CMA) identified at the pilot scale was also retained at the commercial scale, indicating that our proposed method should be useful as a scale-up approach for film coating process.

Novel montelukast sodium-loaded stable oral suspension bioequivalent to the commercial granules in rats

To develop a montelukast sodium-loaded stable oral suspension bioequivalent to the commercial granules in rats, several montelukast sodium-loaded suspensions were prepared with a suspending agent, stabilizers and anti-aggregation agents, and their stabilities were investigated by visually observing the sedimentation phenomenon and determining the concentration of the degradation product. Moreover, dissolution and pharmacokinetic studies of the optimized formulation were examined in rats compared to commercial montelukast sodium-loaded granules. Avicel RC-591 (Avicel), a suspending agent, prevented the sedimentation of these suspensions at >2.496 (w/v) per cent composition. Amongst the stabilizers tested, fumaric acid provided the lowest concentration of montelukast sulphoxide (a degradation product) in these suspensions at 40 °C, demonstrating its excellent stabilizing activity. Furthermore, as an anti-aggregation agent, glycerin gave lower amounts of degradation product than those with poloxamer 407 and Tween 80. In particular, montelukast-loaded oral suspension, an aqueous suspension containing montelukast sodium/Avicel/fumaric acid/glycerin at a concentration of 312/2496/15.6/62.4 (mg/100 ml), and the commercial granules exhibited similar dissolution profiles in 0.5% (w/v) aqueous solution of sodium lauryl sulphate. Moreover, the pharmacokinetics in rats provided by this suspension was comparable to that of the commercial granules, suggesting that they were bioequivalent. In addition, it was physically and chemically stable at 40 °C for at least 6 months. Thus, this montelukast sodium-loaded oral suspension, with bioequivalence to the commercial granules and excellent stability, could be a prospective dosage form for the treatment of asthma.

Montelukast-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers: part I oral bioavailability improvement

The purpose of the study was to formulate montelukast-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (MNLC) to improve its systemic bioavailability, avoid hepatic metabolism and reduce hepatic cellular toxicity due to metabolites. MNLC was prepared using melt-emulsification-homogenization method. Preformulation study was carried out to evaluate drug-excipient compatibility. MNLCs were prepared using spatially different solid and liquid lipid triglycerides. CAE (DL-Pyrrolidonecarboxylic acid salt of L-cocyl arginine ethyl ester), a cationic, biodegradable, biocompatible surfactant was used to stabilize the system. MNLCs were characterized by FTIR, XRPD and DSC to evaluate physicochemical properties. MNLCs having a particle size of 181.4 ± 6.5 nm with encapsulation efficiency of 96.13 ± 0.98% were prepared. FTIR findings demonstrated no interaction between the drug and excipients of the formulation which could lead to asymmetric vibrations. DSC and XRPD study confirmed stable amorphous form of the montelukast in lipid matrix. In vitro release study revealed sustained release over a period of 24 h. In vivo single dose oral pharmacokinetic study demonstrated 143-fold improvement in bioavailability as compared to montelukast-aqueous solution. Thus, the result of this study implies that developed MNLC formulation be suitable to sustain the drug release with improvement in the bioavailability.

Generalized in vitro-in vivo relationship (IVIVR) model based on artificial neural networks

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to develop a generalized in vitro-in vivo relationship (IVIVR) model based on in vitro dissolution profiles together with quantitative and qualitative composition of dosage formulations as covariates. Such a model would be of substantial aid in the early stages of development of a pharmaceutical formulation, when no in vivo results are yet available and it is impossible to create a classical in vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC)/IVIVR.

METHODS

Chemoinformatics software was used to compute the molecular descriptors of drug substances (ie, active pharmaceutical ingredients) and excipients. The data were collected from the literature. Artificial neural networks were used as the modeling tool. The training process was carried out using the 10-fold cross-validation technique.

RESULTS

The database contained 93 formulations with 307 inputs initially, and was later limited to 28 in a course of sensitivity analysis. The four best models were introduced into the artificial neural network ensemble. Complete in vivo profiles were predicted accurately for 37.6% of the formulations.

CONCLUSION

It has been shown that artificial neural networks can be an effective predictive tool for constructing IVIVR in an integrated generalized model for various formulations. Because IVIVC/IVIVR is classically conducted for 2-4 formulations and with a single active pharmaceutical ingredient, the approach described here is unique in that it incorporates various active pharmaceutical ingredients and dosage forms into a single model. Thus, preliminary IVIVC/IVIVR can be available without in vivo data, which is impossible using current IVIVC/IVIVR procedures.