Development of lipid-based microsuspensions for improved ophthalmic delivery of gentamicin sulphate.

Aim: Anterior eye segment disorders are treated with eye drops and ointments, which have low ocular bioavailability necessitating the need for improved alternatives. Lipid microsuspension of gentamicin sulphate was developed for the treatment of susceptible eye diseases. Materials & methods: Lipid microsuspensions encapsulating gentamicin sulphate were produced by hot homogenization and evaluated. Ex vivo permeation and ocular irritancy tests were also conducted. Results & conclusion: Stable microsuspensions with high entrapment efficiency and satisfactory osmolarities were obtained. Release studies achieved 49-88% in vitro release at 12 h with sustained permeability of gentamicin compared with conventional gentamicin eye drop (Evril®). No irritation was observed following Draize's test. The microsuspensions have great potential as ocular delivery system of gentamicin sulphate.

The effect of miscellaneous oral dosage forms on the environmental pollution of sulfonamides in pig holdings.

BACKGROUND: Due to antibiotic treatment of humans and animals, the prevalence of bacterial resistances increases worldwide. Especially in livestock farming, large quantities of faeces contaminated with antibiotics pose a risk of the carryover of the active ingredient to the environment. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was the evaluation of the benefit of different oral dosage forms (powder, pellets, granula) in pigs concerning the environmental pollution of sulfadiazine. Two subtherapeutic dosages were evaluated in powder mixtures to gain information about their potential to pollute the pig barn. Furthermore, a new group of pigs was kept in the stable after powder feeding of another pig group to determine the possible absorption of environmentally distributed antibiotics. Pigs were orally treated with three dosage forms. Simultaneously, sedimentation and airborne dust were collected and plasma and urine levels were determined. RESULTS: All formulations result in comparable plasma and urine levels, but massive differences in environmental pollution (powder > pellets, granula). Pigs housing in a contaminated barn exhibit traces of sulfadiazine in plasma and urine. CONCLUSION: Using pharmaceutical formulations like pellets or granula, the environmental pollution of sulfonamides can significantly be diminished due to massive dust reduction during feeding.

Physicochemical characterisation of a novel thermogelling formulation for percutaneous penetration of 5-aminolevulinic acid.

The present contribution was dedicated to the development and characterisation of a semisolid formulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), appropriate for the diagnosis and treatment of actinic keratosis in photodynamic therapy. To achieve sufficiently high concentrations of the polar substance within the living epithelium after topical application, the semisolid base was enriched with penetration enhancers. A semisolid liquid crystalline system for drug delivering was the formulation of choice. It was composed of isopropyl alcohol, dimethyl isosorbide, medium chain triglycerides, water, and Pluronic F 127 as a polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene surface-active block copolymer. Rheometrical investigations were performed in the oscillatory mode and showed a thermo reversible gelification behaviour of the formulation, which therefore was denoted Thermogel. Permeation studies through human stratum corneum revealed higher permeation coefficients for 5-ALA from the Thermogel than from different German Pharmacopoeia creams. For example a 7.5-fold increase in comparison with Basiscreme DAC, and a 19.5-fold increase compared to water containing hydrophilic ointment. With respect to Dolgit(R) Mikrogel, the permeation coefficient from the Thermogel was 6.4-fold higher. These results were in accordance with those of differential scanning calorimetry measurements. Thermogel disclosed the strongest interactions with stratum corneum lipids.

Structural investigations on lipid nanoparticles containing high amounts of lecithin.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), an alternative colloidal drug delivery system to polymer nanoparticles, emulsions and liposomes, possess inherent low incorporation rates resulting from the crystalline structure of the solid lipid. To increase the drug loading capacity of SLN, matrix modification by incorporation of the amphiphilic lipid lecithin within the lipid matrices has been proposed as a promising alternative. The objective of this work is to investigate the effects of the lecithin on the microstructure of matrix modified SLN. In addition, these systems were checked for the existence of aggregates like mixed micelles, liposomes, etc., which could possibly be formed by lecithin leakage into the aqueous phase during the preparation process. For this purpose, laser diffraction, photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed to investigate the structure, mobility, and molecular environment of the compounds. Lecithin incorporation within the lipid matrices resulted in a concentration dependent decrease in particle size up to a critical concentration of 30%. Lecithin incorporation up to 50% was investigated but caused no further particle size decrease. TEM revealed anisometrical and crystalline platelets of ellipsoidal to disc-like shape. Furthermore, SAXS and TEM showed no signs of lecithin and nonionic emulsifier derived aggregates in the aqueous phase. This points in agreement with NMR measurements to a strong attachment of both substances to the SLN surfaces. The proposed structure of the particles after melt emulsification consists of two different layers: a crystalline triglyceride-rich core is covered in dependence of the lecithin content either by a monomolecular or multimolecular lecithin/Solutol HS15 (SOL) layer.