Explicit-pH Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations Enable Insights into Restructuring of Intestinal Colloidal Aggregates with Permeation Enhancers

Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Heterogeneous Polysorbate 80 Surfactants and their Interactions with Small Molecules and Proteins

Polysorbate 80 (PS80) is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations, and its commercial grades exhibit certain levels of structural heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to apply coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to better understand the effect of PS80 heterogeneity on micelle self-assembly, the loading of hydrophobic small molecules into the micelle core, and the interactions between PS80 and a protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). Four representative PS80 variants with different head and tail structures were studied. Our simulations found that PS80 structural heterogeneity could affect blank micelle properties such as solvent-accessible surface area, aggregation number, and micelle aspect ratio. It was also found that hydrophobic small molecules such as ethinyl estradiol preferentially partitioned into the PS80 micelle core and PS80 dioleates formed a more hydrophobic core compared to PS80 monooleates. Furthermore, multiple PS80 molecules could bind to BSA, and PS80 heterogeneity profoundly changed the binding ratio as well as the surfactant-protein contact area.

A. E. Albadri A, Patel H, Messaoudi S, Kadri A, M. Al-Hazmy S, Aouadi K. Synthesis, optical properties, DNA, β-cyclodextrin interaction, hydrogen isotope sensor and computational study of new enantiopure isoxazolidine derivative (ISoXD)

A novel isoxazolidine derivative (ISoXD) dye was successfully synthesized and comprehensively characterized. In this study, we conducted a thorough examination of its various properties, including optical characteristics, interactions with DNA and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulation, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our investigation encompassed a systematic analysis of the absorption and emission spectra of ISoXD in diverse solvents. The observed variations in the spectroscopic data were attributed to the specific solvent's capacity to engage in hydrogen bonding interactions. Remarkably, the most pronounced intensities were observed in glycol, which can establish many hydrogen bonds with ISoXD. Furthermore, our study revealed a significant distinction in the fluorescence behavior of ISoXD when subjected to different solvents, particularly between CHCl3 and CDCl3. Moreover, we explored the fluorescence intensity of the ISoXD complex in the presence of various metals, both in ethanol and water. The ISoXD complex exhibited a substantial increase of fluorescence upon interaction with different metal ions. The utilization of DFT calculations allowed us to propose an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism as a plausible explanation for this quenching phenomenon. The interaction of ISoXD with DNA and β-CD was studied using absorption spectra. The binding constant (K) and the standard Gibbs free energy change (ΔGo) for the interaction between DNA and β-CD with ISoXD were determined. In docking study, ISoXD exhibited significant docking scores (-6.511) and MM-GBSA binding free energies (-66.27 kcal/mol) within the PARP-1 binding cavity. Its binding pattern closely resembles to the co-crystal ligand veliparib, and during a 100ns MD simulation, ISoXD displayed strong stability and formed robust hydrogen bonds with key amino acids. These findings suggest ISoXD's potential as a PARP-1 inhibitor for further investigation in therapeutic development.

Revealing the interaction between peptide drugs and permeation enhancers in the presence of intestinal bile salts

Permeability enhancer-based formulations offer a promising approach to enhance the oral bioavailability of peptides. We used all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the interaction between two permeability enhancers (sodium caprate, and SNAC), and four different peptides (octreotide, hexarelin, degarelix, and insulin), in the presence of taurocholate, an intestinal bile salt. The permeability enhancers exhibited distinct effects on peptide release based on their properties, promoting hydrophobic peptide release while inhibiting water-soluble peptide release. Lowering peptide concentrations in the simulations reduced peptide-peptide interactions but increased their interactions with the enhancers and taurocholates. Introducing peptides randomly with enhancer and taurocholate molecules yielded dynamic molecular aggregation, and reduced peptide-peptide interactions and hydrogen bond formation compared to peptide-only systems. The simulations provided insights into molecular-level interactions, highlighting the specific contacts between peptide residues responsible for aggregation, and the interactions between peptide residues and permeability enhancers/taurocholates that are crucial within the mixed colloids. Therefore, our results can provide insights into how modifications of these critical contacts can be made to alter drug release profiles from peptide-only or mixed peptide-PE-taurocholate aggregates. To further probe the molecular nature of permeability enhancers and peptide interactions, we also analyzed insulin secondary structures using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The presence of SNAC led to an increase in β-sheet formation in insulin. In contrast, both in the absence and presence of caprate, α-helices, and random structures dominated. These molecular-level insights can guide the design of improved permeability enhancer-based dosage forms, allowing for precise control of peptide release profiles near the intended absorption site.

Safety of surfactant excipients in oral drug formulations

Surfactants are a diverse group of compounds that share the capacity to adsorb at the boundary between distinct phases of matter. They are used as pharmaceutical excipients, food additives, emulsifiers in cosmetics, and as household/industrial detergents. This review outlines the interaction of surfactant-type excipients present in oral pharmaceutical dosage forms with the intestinal epithelium of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Many surfactants permitted for human consumption in oral products reduce intestinal epithelial cell viability in vitro and alter barrier integrity in epithelial cell monolayers, isolated GI tissue mucosae, and in animal models. This suggests a degree of mis-match for predicting safety issues in humans from such models. Recent controversial preclinical research also infers that some widely used emulsifiers used in oral products may be linked to ulcerative colitis, some metabolic disorders, and cancers. We review a wide range of surfactant excipients in oral dosage forms regarding their interactions with the GI tract. Safety data is reviewed across in vitro, ex vivo, pre-clinical animal, and human studies. The factors that may mitigate against some of the potentially abrasive effects of surfactants on GI epithelia observed in pre-clinical studies are summarised. We conclude with a perspective on the overall safety of surfactants in oral pharmaceutical dosage forms, which has relevance for delivery system development.

Numerical simulation of peristalsis to study co-localization and intestinal distribution of a macromolecular drug and permeation enhancer

In this work, simulations of intestinal peristalsis are performed to investigate the intraluminal transport of macromolecules (MMs) and permeation enhancers (PEs). Properties of insulin and sodium caprate (C₁₀) are used to represent the general class of MM and PE molecules. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to obtain the diffusivity of C₁₀, and coarse-grain molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to estimate the concentration-dependent diffusivity of C₁₀. A segment of the small intestine with the length of 29.75 cm was modeled. Peristaltic speed, pocket size, release location, and occlusion ratio of the peristaltic wave were varied to study the effect on drug transport. It was observed that the maximum concentration at the epithelial surface for the PE and the MM increased by 397 % and 380 %, respectively, when the peristaltic wave speed was decreased from 1.5 to 0.5 cm s^-1. At this wave speed, physiologically relevant concentrations of PE were found at the epithelial surface. However, when the occlusion ratio is increased from 0.3 to 0.7, the concentration approaches zero. These results suggest that a slower-moving and more contracted peristaltic wave leads to higher efficiency in transporting mass to the epithelial wall during the peristalsis phases of the migrating motor complex.