Binder jet 3D printing composite bilayer tablet of extended-release printing technology in the study / 药学学报

Based on the dual needs of analgesia and anti-inflammation in trauma treatment, this study uses acetaminophen and moxifloxacin hydrochloride as active pharmaceutical ingredients and develops a composite bilayer tablet with a dual-phase drug release system by using binder jet 3D printing technology. Due to the complexity of the 3D printing process, there is an interaction between the various parameters. Through the optimization of the process, the relationship between the key process parameters can be determined more intuitively. In this study, the process of extended-release tablets was optimized to maintain the mechanical properties of the tablets while realizing the regulation of release. The full-factor experimental design of three central points 23 was used to analyze the factors that significantly affect the quality attributes of extended-release tablets and the interaction between factors. The optimal extended-release process parameters were obtained by the response optimizer: the inkjet quantity of the printing ink was 10 (about 13.8 pL), the powder thickness was 180 μm, and the running speed was 360 mm·s-1. The in vitro of release of 3D printed composite bilayer tablets showed that the in vitro of release of 3D printed tablets and commercially available tablets conformed to the Ritger-Peppas release model. The results of porosity showed that the immediate-release layer of the preparation has many pores and large pore size, and the dissolution of the immediate release layer within 15 min was greater than 85%. The internal pore size of the extended release layer is large, but it can still release slowly for up to 8 h, the mechanism may be related to the extended release of HPMC gelation. On the basis of verifying the rationality of the design goal of 3D printed composite bilayer tablets, this study also provides a theoretical basis for the preparation of 3D printing complex preparations.

Preparation of 3D printed metoprolol tartrate chewable tablets and optimization of printing process / 药学学报

With the growing demand of personalized medicine for children, it is especially important to develop medicines for children. In this study, using metoprolol tartrate as model drug, we developed 3D printed chewable tablets suitable for children with automated dosage distribution using semi-solid extruded (SSE) 3D printing technology. Based on the quality by design concept, this study prepared a semi-solid material with good printability using gelatin as the substrate, constructed 3D models and printed tablets with the aid of computer-aided design. The printing parameters were optimized and determined as follows: print temperature of 35-37 ℃, print speed of 25 mm·s-1, fill rate of 15%, and number of outer profile layers of 2. Subsequently, the printing process and the quality uniformity of the tablets were verified, and a linear relationship between the dose and the number of model layers was obtained. Finally, 3D printed chewable tablets were superior in terms of appearance, dose accuracy and compliance compared with traditional split-dose commercially available tablets. In this study, 3D printed metoprolol tartrate chewable tablets with good performance were successfully prepared to address the personalized medication needs of pediatric patients.

Research progress of polymer self-healing mechanism and its application in biomedicine / 药学学报

Polymer self-healing is mainly based on the molecular structure and interaction of polymers, and some need external stimulation, such as light, heat, pH, etc. In recent years, many studies have found that the self-healing properties of polymers can prolong the life of materials, while maintaining the mechanical properties of polymers after healing. According to the different action modes of polymer materials, it can be divided into autonomous self-healing and non-autonomous self-healing. Among them, autonomous self-healing mainly works through reversible covalent bonds (Schiff base bond, Diels-Alder reaction, hydrazide bond), reversible non-covalent bonds (hydrogen bond, metal-ligand coordination bond, electrostatic interaction, π-π stacking interaction, hydrophobic interaction) and a combination of the two interactions. Drug carriers with unique self-healing properties play an important role in the encapsulation and stable release of biomacromolecules. In this review, the self-healing mechanism of polymers and their applications in the field of biomedicine were briefly summarized and discussed.

Preparation and preliminary evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine based on PLGA nanoparticles / 药学学报

We constructed and optimized the plasmid DNA (pDNA) Opt-S encoding the gene of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein, using poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) copolymer (PLGA) as a delivery carrier for pDNA. PLGA-pDNA NPs were loaded by nanoprecipitation and its properties in vitro were preliminary evaluated. The results showed that the prepared PLGA-pDNA NPs were regular morphology, clear edges, with an average particle size of (184.2 ± 2.4) nm, polydisperse index (PDI) of 0.093 ± 0.013, zeta potential of (-68.10 ± 0.36) mV, and encapsulation rate of (98.92 ± 0.22)%. The PLGA-pDNA NPs were stable at -20 ℃ for 7 months and could protect pDNA against nuclease degradation. And they also exhibited sustained release of pDNA in vitro. The PLGA-pDNA NPs have low cytotoxicity and high safety. In addition, in vitro transfection experiments showed that the SARS-CoV-2 S gene could enter cells and be expressed. These results indicate that PLGA-pDNA NPs non-viral gene vector have simple preparation process and good performance, which are expected to provide a new idea for the research and development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Research progress of artificial intelligence in 3D printed drugs / 药学学报

In 2015, the United States put forward the concept of precision medicine, which changed medical treatment from "one size fits all" to personalization, and paid more attention to personalization and drug customization. In the same year, Spritam®, the world's first 3D printed tablet, was in the market, marking the emerging pharmaceutical 3D printing technology was recognized by regulatory authorities, and it also provided a new way for drug customization. 3D printing technology has strong interdisciplinary and high flexibility, which puts forward higher requirements for pharmaceutical staffs. With the development of artificial intelligence (AI), modern society can perform various tasks, such as disease diagnosis and robotic surgery, with superhuman speed and intelligence. As a major AI technology, machine learning (ML) has been widely used in many aspects of 3D printing drug, accelerating the research and development, production, and clinical application, and promoting the new process of global personalized medicine and industry 4.0. This paper introduces the basic concepts and main classifications of 3D printing drug, non-AI drug optimization technology and ML. It focuses on the analysis of the research progress of ML in 3D printing drug, and elucidates how AI can empower the intelligent level of 3D printing drug in pre-processing, printing, and post-processing process. It provides a new idea for accelerating the development of 3D printed drug.

Research progress of exosomes based targeted delivery of antitumor drugs / 药学学报

Exosomes are one of the most important ways of cell-to-cell communication in living lives. They are involved in major physiological and pathological processes, including drug resistance, infection propagation, cancer development and cardiovascular diseases. The biological functions of exosomes made it possess characteristics of low immunogenicity, high delivery efficiency, ability to cross multiple biological barriers and targeting capacity, which also encourage people to try to use it as a drug carrier to overcome the disadvantages of poor stability, low solubility, low bioavailability and high toxicity of some drugs. In this paper, the latest progress of exosomes in the delivery of antitumor drugs, including small chemotherapeutic drugs, biological macromolecules and nucleic acid drugs, is reviewed. In addition, the isolation, drug loading, and modification method and the application prospect of exosomes are also discussed.

Accelerated stability test of sustained-release thienorphine loaded microspheres for injection / 药学学报

In order to meet the clinical needs of long-acting sustained-release thienorphine, injectable thienorphine loaded microspheres were developed, and the accelerated stability study was carried out to explore the suitable storage and transportation conditions of the microspheres. Using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as carrier material, 3 batches of microspheres were prepared in pilot scale with emulsion solvent evaporation method. By investigating the in vitro release of thienorphine loaded microspheres at 37, 45, 52, and 60 ℃, and applying the Arrhenius equation, the linear relationship between the release rate constant (lgk) and the temperature (1/T) was established to obtain the equation: lgk = -8.073/T + 24.35 (R2 = 0.985 3), which showed that the release of microspheres at high temperature can be used to predict the release in vitro at 37 ℃, and 52.0 ± 0.5 ℃ was selected as the accelerated release condition in vitro. The quality research methods were established to investigate the changes of critical quality attributes such as microsphere morphology, drug loading, particle size and distribution, polymer molecular weight, and the related substances under accelerated conditions. The difference factor f1 and similarity factor f2 were used to assess the similarity of release behavior under accelerated conditions. The results showed that under the accelerated experimental conditions of 25 ± 2 ℃ and relative humidity (RH) 60% ± 5%, the critical quality attributes of injectable thienorphine loaded microspheres had no significant change in 6 months, suggesting that the long-term storage condition could be 5 ± 3 ℃.

Development and research of compound caffeine waterless swallowed granules based on reverse engineering / 药学学报

In this study, the reverse engineering technology was used to analyze the prescription and process of Doppelherz® Energy DIRECT, based on the composition of the prescription on the official website of the product, the detection method of composition is established according to the pharmacopoeia and literature information, combined with gravimetric analysis to complete prescription analysis. The prescription composition of the reference listed drug was determined to be composed of caffeine, taurine, vitamin B, anhydrous glucose, citric acid, sorbitol, sucralose, magnesium salts of fatty acids, in which the glucose content was 71.4%, the citric acid content was 7.0% and the magnesium salts of fatty acids content was < 5.8%. According to patent inquiry, Raman imaging and other technologies, the preparation process of the marketed preparation has been basically obtained, and the development of the self-made preparation has been completed on this basis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. Combined with the results of the taste evaluation experiment and the caffeine dissolution test of the preparation in 1 min, the hot-melt extrusion technology was screened out as the taste-masking technology of the self-made preparation, the parameters of the hot-melt extrusion process were screened by differential scanning calorimetry analysis, and finally a product with good taste and qualified quality was obtained, which provided a reference method for the research and development of related preparations.

Development of a method for determination of progesterone sustained-release formulation in Beagle dog plasma and its pharmacokinetic study / 药学学报

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to determine the plasma concentration of progesterone in Beagle dogs, and apply it to the study of the pharmacokinetics of progesterone sustained-release formulation in Beagle dogs. The plasma samples were processed by protein precipitation method and megestrol acetate was used as an internal standard (IS). The quantitation analysis was performed using multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode at the specific ion transitions of m/z 315.2→97.0 for progesterone and m/z 385.2→267.1 for megestrol acetate (IS) under the positive ion condition. Male Beagle dogs were injected intramuscularly with progesterone sustained-release microspheres and the plasma samples were collected at different time points after administration. The relevant pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by WinNonlin 8.1 software. A good linearity over the range of 0.1-500.0 ng·mL-1 was yielded by this method. The intra- and inter-day precision (RSD) were all less than 13.25% and the accuracy (RE) was within 8.92%. Stability test showed that progesterone in dog plasma was stable at room temperature for 12 h, up to 60 days at -20 ℃ and after three cycles of freeze-thaw. The recovery of it ranged from 71.43%-77.97%. After intramuscular injection of progesterone sustained-release microspheres in Beagle dogs, tmax was 19.00 ± 25.36 h, Cmax was 137.72 ± 11.59 ng·mL-1, t1/2 was 83.83 ± 26.43 h. The drug was released continuously in vivo and in a continuous absorption process for many times with good sustained-release effect. The method developed in this study is sensitive, rapid and stable. It is suitable for the determination of progesterone plasma concentration in Beagle dogs, and can be applied to the preclinical pharmacokinetic study of progesterone-related formulations. The animal experiment scheme of this study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Preparation, in vitro characterization and pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel thermosensitive gel / 药学学报

Local drug delivery is a new strategy to prevent postoperative recurrence of cancer, thermosensitive gel is a typical topical drug delivery system. In this study, a novel paclitaxel thermosensitive gel (PTG) was prepared to prevent recurrence after chemotherapy for cancer, the effects of drug particle size on release and absorption rate in vivo were investigated. Paclitaxel suspensions with different particle sizes were prepared by medium grinding, high pressure homogenization, air crushing and screening. Using poloxamer as the gel matrix and carbomer as the biological adhesive, Box-Behnen was used to optimize the formulation of PTG. The morphology, viscosity, rheological properties and biological adhesion of thermosensitive gel were characterized. The relationship between dissolution and release of thermosensitive gel was investigated by weight loss method, pharmacokinetics was studied in rats. The paclitaxel suspensions with the particle sizes of 350 nm, 800 nm, 3 μm and 9 μm were prepared, 19% poloxamer 407, 4% poloxamer 188 and 0.1% carbomer were used to prepare PTG. The phase transition temperature of thermosensitive gel was 30 to 35 ℃, there was a good linear relationship between in vitro release and gel dissolution. In the pharmacokinetic study, area under the curve (AUC0-t) increased with the decrease of particle size. In general, the PTG prepared in this study can rapidly change into gel under human body temperature, provided with good adhesion. The release rate in vitro is closely related to the particle size, the release rate increased with the decrease of particle size. This study provides data support for preventing postoperative recurrence of cancer. The animal welfare and experimental process in this paper follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Characterization of butaselen-2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes and preparation of injectable solutions / 药学学报

In this study, butaselen-2,‍6-dimethyl-‍β‍-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes were prepared by saturated aqueous solution method to improve the solubility of butaselen, so as to obtain its injection solutions. The content of butaselen in the inclusions was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and then the preparation process was optimized by orthogonal design using the inclusion ratio as an indicator. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to verify the structure of the inclusions. The effects of the inclusions on the solubility and stability of butaselen were also investigated. The results showed that the optimized preparation process with a mass ratio of 1∶340, an encapsulation time of 3 h and an encapsulation temperature of 70 ℃ resulted in an encapsulation ratio of (91.24 ± 0.42) %, and the results of XRD, FTIR and SEM demonstrated the formation of inclusion complexes. The developed HPLC method is rapid, simple, accurate, applicable, specific and reproducible for the determination of butaselen content in butaselen cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, which can lay the foundation for the development of new butaselen dosage forms and clinical applications and provide technical support.

Based on clinical application research progress of thermosensitive gel in different drug delivery sites / 药学学报

The advantages of local administration are as follow: release drugs directly at the lesion, increase the drug concentration in lesion location and reduce the side effects of systemic administration. Thermosensitive gel is one of typical local administration agents. It exhibits the different physical characteristics with the change of temperature. It is sol-gel at low temperature or storage temperature, while when the temperature rises to the transition temperature or near the body temperature, it is semisolid gel with a certain viscoelasticity, and can recover rapidly. It can enhance the local adhesion, which prolongs the local retention time of drugs. As a result, thermosensitive gel can control and display the release of drugs, which can significantly improve the bioavailability of drugs. This review summarizes the characteristics of thermosensitive gel, thermosensitive materials, and its application in different parts: nasal cavity, eye, vagina, periodontal, skin, tumor and joint cavity, based on clinical needs.

Research progress on new dosage forms of progesterone and its preparation methods / 药学学报

Progesterone is currently the first-line drug for the treatment and prevention of threatened abortion and habitual abortion. With the gradual liberalization of China's childbirth policy, the number of elderly parturients has increased significantly. As a result, the market demand for progesterone and the individual requirements have been continuously improved. Clinical studies have found that the indications of progesterone are not limited to gynecological diseases, but can also be used for the treatment of renal colic, traumatic brain injury and other diseases. Existing progesterone preparations include oral capsules, intramuscular injections, vaginal gels, etc., but they can no longer meet the current market situation and the increase of indications. Improving existing preparations, developing new preparations, and opening up new routes of administration have become one of the directions of progesterone drug research. This article will review the research progress of new dosage forms in existing administration, new routes of administration and related preparation methods of progesterone.

Application and prospect of alkyl polyglycosides absorption enhancers in drug delivery system / 药学学报

The efficient and safe delivery of drugs to the therapeutic site through the biofilm has traditionally been a difficult and hot topic in the field of drug delivery. In recent years, alkyl polyglycoside (APG) have become ideal penetration enhancers for drug delivery systems because of their high permeability, good safety and biodegradability, which has attracted wide attention of domestic and foreign researchers. In this paper, the physical and chemical properties, characteristics, action mechanism and application of APG in drug delivery system are reviewed, and its application prospect in drug delivery system is prospected.

Full-factor design of experiment application in the development of printing ink for binder jetting 3D printed preparation / 药学学报

The development of printing ink is a challenge for binder jetting 3D printed preparations, which directly determines the quality of the printed product. This study adopted a 23 full-factor Design of Experiment (DoE) with three central points to optimize the printing ink composition of levetiracetam 3D printed dispersible tablet based on the concept of Quality by Design. Firstly, using polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30, glycerin and polysorbate 20 as independent variables based on 40% (v/v) isopropanol aqueous solution, and weight variation, hardness, friability and dispersion uniformity of the printed tablets were used as dependent variables. Then obtained the design space of the printing ink prescription by DoE model analysis, and the response optimizer was used to obtain the optimal printing ink prescription: isopropanol aqueous solution containing 0.1% (w/w) polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30 and 4.0% (w/w) glycerin. The jetting mechanism and wettability of the printing ink were analyzed, and different strengths of personalized 3D printed tablets were prepared and characterized, which verified the rationality of the printing ink formulation. This study provided a reference for the development of printing ink for binder jetting 3D printed preparations.

Optimization of process parameters of 3D printed clozapine dispersive tablets and establishment of personalized dose model / 药学学报

This study aims to establish the design space of the key processes for drop-on-powder 3D printing based on design of experiment (DoE). By utilizing Minitab, an experimental scheme with three factors, two levels and three center points was designed to analyze the factors that significantly affected the tablet quality attributes. Furthermore, the factor interactions were analyzed using Minitab. subsequently, the computer aided drafting (CAD) software was used to adjust the model volume with fixed radius/height ratio (r/h = 1.25) and establish a linear regression equation between model volume and dose. As a result, the drug dose could be controlled in a flexible manner. The finally determined process parameters were: ink-jet level is 12, layer thickness is 150 μm, and the X-axis printing head speed of 635 mm·s-1. Regression equation between drug content (y) and model volume (x) was y = 0.062 x - 0.582 7 (R2 = 0.999 9) showing good linear relationship. This indicated that robust and feasible process parameters were obtained through DoE, and the preparation of personalized-dose tablets was realized with good reproducibility.

Analysis of technical difficulties and new strategies of oral liquid pharmaceutical preparation for children / 药学学报

With the implementation of the two-child policy and the growing demand for child health, pediatric medication has been arousing widespread social concern. To develop the drugs suitable for children, including new compounds, new specifications and new dosage forms, is urgently required for pharmaceutical researchers. In this review, several technical bottlenecks for pediatric oral liquid preparations, as well as the novel strategies involved in drug nanocrystals, self-microemulsion, ion exchange resin and Pickering emulsion were discussed, which may be benefit to play a theoretical guiding role in the research and development of children's oral liquid formulation.

Research progress of in vitro-in vivo correlation of injectable polylactide-polyglycolide microspheres / 药学学报

As a depot drug delivery system, injectable polylactide-polyglycolide (PLGA) sustained-release microspheres have been successfully used to treat many diseases since the first microsphere product Lupron depot was approved for marketing in the United States in 1989. It has the ability of long-term release in the body for several days to several months, which can not only reduce the times of administration, but also reduce the drug blood concentration fluctuations, significantly improve the safety and patient compliance. In vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC) makes the development of microspheres more possible. It can describe the dynamic information of drug release in vivo through the in vitro release behavior of microspheres, and can reduce the workload of each stage and shorten the time span while characterizing the performance of microspheres. IVIVC can provide guidance or support for drug development, production changes, supervision and management. This article summarizes the release mechanism of injectable PLGA sustained-release microspheres, common measurement methods and theories of in vitro and in vivo release. And we also focus on the establishment and application of IVIVC, especially A level IVIVC in the field of microsphere preparations, to provide a reference for further study on in vitro-in vivo correlation of microspheres.

Application of "Quality by Design" in the preparation of acetaminophen sustained-release tablets by 3D printing / 药学学报

The aim of this study is to prepare acetaminophen sustained-release tablets by hot melt extrusion 3D printing technology based on the concept of "Quality by Design" (QbD). Firstly, the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) was used to determine the critical process parameters (CPPs), then full-factor experimental design was used to analyze the critical quality attributes (CQAs) and to establish the design space. The results showed that the content of plasticizer, the path spacing and the shell numbers are independent variable for the experimental design. The design space was concluded to be plasticizer content: 9%, and the shell number: 3-5, the path spacing: 1.05-1.2 mm. In this study, 3D printing technology was used to prepare acetaminophen sustained-release tablets in accordance with the concept of QbD, which improved the durability of the process and ensured the uniform and controllable quality of the preparation and also provided experimental basis for personalised medicine.

Research progress of layer-by-layer self-assembly technology in drug delivery / 药学学报

In recent years, layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL) has developed rapidly. It has been widely used in various industries such as medicine and metallurgy because of its simplicity, flexibility and controllability. In the study of drug delivery system, hollow microcapsules constructed by LbL method as drug carrier have great advantages in drug release, circulation in vivo and bioavailability, providing a technical platform for targeted drug release. In this paper, we summarize the types of film-forming materials and the driving force used in LbL technology, the way of loading drug into hollow micro capsule, and the variety of loaded drugs. We focus on the release mechanism, its evaluation and safety evaluation of self-assembled film as drug carrier in vivo and in vitro. The review shows the great application prospect of LbL technology in the field of drug delivery.