ABSTRACT
Nasal drug delivery efficiency is highly dependent on the position in which the drug is deposited in the nasal cavity. However, no reliable method is currently available to assess its impact on delivery performance. In this study, a biomimetic nasal model based on three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology was developed for visualizing the deposition of drug powders in the nasal cavity. The results showed significant differences in cavity area and volume and powder distribution in the anterior part of the biomimetic nasal model of Chinese males and females. The nasal cavity model was modified with dimethicone and validated to be suitable for the deposition test. The experimental device produced the most satisfactory results with five spray times. Furthermore, particle sizes and spray angles were found to significantly affect the experimental device's performance and alter drug distribution, respectively. Additionally, mometasone furoate (MF) nasal spray (NS) distribution patterns were investigated in a goat nasal cavity model and three male goat noses, confirming the in vitro and in vivo correlation. In conclusion, the developed human nasal structure biomimetic device has the potential to be a valuable tool for assessing nasal drug delivery system deposition and distribution.
ABSTRACT
Cyclodextrin metal-organic framework (CD-MOF) as a highly porous supramolecular carrier could be one of the solutions to the insolubility of isosteviol (STV). The solubility of STV was lower than 20.00 ng/mL at pH 1.0 and pH 4.5, whilst its solubility increased to 20,074.30 ng/mL at pH 6.8 and 129.58 ng/mL in water with a significant pH-dependence. The
ABSTRACT
Tremendous efforts have been devoted to the enhancement of drug solubility using nanotechnologies, but few of them are capable to produce drug particles with sizes less than a few nanometers. This challenge has been addressed here by using biocompatible versatile -cyclodextrin (-CD) metal-organic framework (CD-MOF) large molecular cages in which azilsartan (AZL) was successfully confined producing clusters in the nanometer range. This strategy allowed to improve the bioavailability of AZL in Sprague-Dawley rats by 9.7-fold after loading into CD-MOF. The apparent solubility of AZL/CD-MOF was enhanced by 340-fold when compared to the pure drug. Based on molecular modeling, a dual molecular mechanism of nanoclusterization and complexation of AZL inside the CD-MOF cages was proposed, which was confirmed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and synchrotron radiation-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SR-FTIR) techniques. In a typical cage-like unit of CD-MOF, three molecules of AZL were included by the -CD pairs, whilst other three AZL molecules formed a nanocluster inside the 1.7 nm sized cavity surrounded by six -CDs. This research demonstrates a dual molecular mechanism of complexation and nanoclusterization in CD-MOF leading to significant improvement in the bioavailability of insoluble drugs.
ABSTRACT
In an answer to the challenge of enzymatic instability and low oral bioavailability of proteins/peptides, a new type of drug-delivery vesicle has been developed. The preparation, based on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) embedded in chitosan gel, was used to successfully deliver the model drug-insulin. The self-assembled SDS/β-CD vesicles were prepared and characterized by particle size, zeta potential, appearance, microscopic morphology and entrapment efficiency. In addition, both the interaction of insulin with vesicles and the stability of insulin loaded in vesicles in the presence of pepsin were investigated. The vesicles were crosslinked into thermo-sensitive chitosan/β-glycerol phosphate solution for an in-situ gel to enhance the dilution stability. The in vitro release characteristics of insulin from gels in media at different pH values were investigated. The insulin loaded vesicles-chitosan hydrogel (IVG) improved the dilution stability of the vesicles and provided pH-selective sustained release compared with insulin solution-chitosan hydrogel (ISG). In vitro, IVG exhibited slow release in acidic solution and relatively quick release in neutral solutions to provide drug efficacy. In simulated digestive fluid, IVG showed better sustained release and insulin protection properties compared with ISG. Thus IVG might improve the stability of insulin during its transport in vivo and contribute to the bioavailability and therapeutic effect of insulin.
ABSTRACT
The association rate constant and dissociation rate constant are important parameters of the drug-cyclodextrin supermolecule systems, which determine the dissociation of drugs from the complex and the further in vivo absorption of drugs. However, the current studies of drug-cyclodextrin interactions mostly focus on the thermodynamic parameter of equilibrium constants (K). In this paper, a method based on quantitative high performance affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was developed to determine the apparent dissociation rate constant (k(off,app)) of drug-cyclodextrin supermolecule systems. This method was employed to measure the k(off,app) of meloxicam and acetaminophen. Firstly, chromatographic peaks of drugs and non-retained solute (uracil) on β-cyclodextrin column at different flow rates were acquired, and the retention time and variance values were obtained via the fitting the peaks. Then, the plate heights of drugs (H(R)) and uracil (H(M,C)) were calculated. The plate height of theoretical non-retained solute (H(M,T)) was calculated based on the differences of diffusion coefficient and the stagnant mobile phase mass transfer between drugs and uracil. Finally, the k(off,app) was calculated from the slope of the regression equation between (H(R)-H(M,T)) and uk/(1+k)2, (0.13 ± 0.00) s(-1) and (4.83 ± 0.10) s(-1) for meloxicam and acetaminophen (control drug), respectively. In addition, the apparent association rate constant (k(on,app)) was also calculated through the product of K (12.53 L x mol(-1)) and k(off,app). In summary, it has been proved that the method established in our study was simple, efficiently fast and reproducible for investigation on the kinetics of drug-cyclodextrin interactions.
ABSTRACT
The release behavior of single pellet was investigated by LC/MS/MS method with tamsulosin hydrochloride (TSH) as the model drug of the research and then the pellets were divided into four groups according to the drug loading. Comparison of dissolution profiles of each group and capsule were performed using f1 and f2 factor methods to study the difference and similarity. The release profiles of single pellet, each group and capsule were analyzed using principle component analysis (PCA). The particle system was built through Matlab to get the target release profile. The result of this research demonstrated the release behavior of single pellet correlated well with the drug loading. While the dissolution profile of capsule as a reference, the similarity factor of dissolution profiles of the lower drug loading groups were 62.2, 67.1, 53.9, respectively and, 43.3 for highest drug loading group. The particle systems with different pellet distribution and same release profiles were built through release behavior of single pellet. It is of significance to investigate the release behavior of single pellets for studying the release regularity of multiple-unit drug delivery system.