Preparation of Fine Particles with Improved Solubility Using a Complex Fluidized-Bed Granulator Equipped with a Particle-Sizing Mechanism.

A new type of fluidized-bed granulator equipped with a particle-sizing mechanism was used for the preparation of fine particles that improved the solubility of a poorly water-soluble drug substance. Cefteram pivoxyl (CEF) was selected as a model drug substance, and its solution with a hydrophilic polymer, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC-L), was sprayed on granulation grade lactose monohydrate (Lac). Three types of treated particles were prepared under different conditions focused on the spraying air pressure and the amount of HPC-L. When the amount of HPC-L was changed, the size of the obtained particles was similar. However, particle size distribution was dependent on the amount of HPC-L. Its distribution became more homogenous with greater amounts of HPC-L, but the particle size distribution obtained by decreasing the spraying air pressure was not acceptable. By processing CEF with HPC-L using a complex fluidized-bed granulator equipped with a particle-sizing mechanism, the dissolution ratio was elevated by approximately 40% compared to that of unprocessed CEF. Moreover, in the dissolution profile of treated CEF, the initial burst was suppressed, and nearly zero order release was observed up to approximately 60% in the dissolution profile. This technique may represent a method with which to design fine particles of approximately 100 µm in size with a narrow distribution, which can improve the solubility of a drug substance with low solubility.

Effect of side chains including the N-methyl-tetrazole-thiol group of beta-lactam antibiotics on transport in cultured kidney epithelial cells LLC-PK1.

In this study, the transcellular transport characteristics of four beta-lactam antibiotics (cefotaxime, cefmenoxime, cefmetazole, and cefotiam) were investigated in a kidney epithelial cell line LLC-PK1, especially focusing on the effect of the N-methyl-tetrazole-thiol (NMTT) group attached to 7-amino-cephalosporanic acid. There were no directional differences between the apical-to-basolateral and basolateral-to-apical transport of cefotaxime, cefmenoxime, and cefmetazole, suggesting that the NMTT group does not influence the transcellular transport behaviors of beta-lactam antibiotics. In contrast, cefotiam transport across LLC-PK1 cell monolayers was 1.3-fold greater in the basolateral-to-apical direction than in the apical-to-basolateral direction. It is considered that the ionization of nitrogen in the N-dimethylaminoethyl group attached to NMTT is a factor in the secretory-oriented movement of cefotiam. The transcellular transport of cefotiam in both directions was significantly depressed at a low temperature (4 degrees C) and by 2,4-dinitrophenol. The basolateral-to-apical transport of cefotiam was also shown to be concentration-dependent. These results suggest that a specialized transport process might participate in the transcellular transport of cefotiam. The lipophilicities of these beta-lactam antibiotics were not correlated to the degree of transcellular transport, directly.