In Vitro Evaluation of a Solid Supersaturated Self Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System (Super-SNEDDS) of Aprepitant for Enhanced Solubility

Aprepitant (APR) belongs to Class II of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) because of its low aqueous solubility. The objective of the current work is to develop self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) of APR to enhance its aqueous solubility. Preformulation studies involving screening of excipients for solubility and emulsification efficiency were carried out. Pseudo ternary phase diagrams were constructed with blends of oil (Imwitor® 988), cosolvent (Transcutol® P), and various surfactants (Kolliphor® RH40, Kolliphor® ELP, Kolliphor® HS15). The prepared SNEDDS were characterized for droplet size and nanoemulsion stability after dilution. Supersaturated SNEDDS (super-SNEDDS) were prepared to increase the quantity of loaded APR into the formulations. HPMC, PVP, PVP/VA, and Soluplus® were used as polymeric precipitation inhibitors (PPI). PPIs were added to the formulations at 5% and 10% by weight. The influence of the PPIs on drug precipitation was investigated. In vitro lipolysis test was carried out to simulate digestion of formulations in the gastrointestinal tract. Optimized super-SNEDDS were formulated into free-flowing granules by adsorption on the porous carriers such as Neusilin® US2. In vitro dissolution studies of solid super-SNEDDS formulation revealed an increased dissolution rate of the drug due to enhanced solubility. Consequently, a formulation to improve the solubility and potentially bioavailability of the drug was developed.

Novel in vitro and in silico tools for the development of mesoporous silica formulations with optimal precipitation inhibitors

Formulation scientists have developed a toolkit of strategies that can improve the solubility and subsequent bioavailability of poorly soluble candidates. Amorphous formulations are especially appealing due to the significant improvement in solubility the amorphous form can provide, but must be stabilized for effective performance (Timpe, 2007). 2. The Importance of Drug Polymer Interactions in Precipitation Inhibition Polymeric “precipitation inhibitors” have seen widespread usage in the literature (Warren, 2010). The precipitation inhibition effect of polymers on precipitations is related to interference with nucleation and crystal growth (Xu, 2013). Many techniques have been reported in the literature to predict these interactions, however, they are not suitable to screening due to API and time resources required, which are not amenable to early stage pharmaceutical development. 3. Mesoporous Silica: An Emerging Formulation Technology Mesoporous silicon dioxide has emerged in recent years as a new option for stabilizing the amorphous form. Upon impregnation of the silica with a concentrated drug solution, the drug can be molecularly adsorbed and locally and sterically confined, preventing recrystallization (Ditzinger, 2018). Upon administration of mesoporous silica formulations to the body the amorphous formulation generates supersaturation which must be stabilized using precipitation inhibitors (Guzman, 2007). 4. Co-incorporation: A New Method to Combine Precipitation Inhibitors with Mesoporous Silica There has been no systematic study of how best to incorporate precipitation inhibitors into mesoporous silica formulations. The current standard practice involves combining inhibitors in a physical mixture with the drug-loaded silica, either by pestle and mortar or overhead stirring. Due to the lack of a defined protocol, there is uncertainty about how reliably the precipitation inhibitor is combined with the drug-loaded silica on a batch to batch basis. In this work, a novel co-incorporated formulation of glibenclamide and the precipitation inhibitor, HPMCAS, onto mesoporous silica was described. By co-incorporating the precipitation inhibitor, the formulation significantly outperformed the commonly applied simple physical blend due to the formation of drug-polymer interactions in the solid state. 5. In Silico Pharmaceutics: A New Method to Select Precipitation Inhibitors for Mesoporous Silica An approach that can incorporate understanding of the drug-polymer interactions with a quick and efficient screening process would be very useful. The COnductor like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) is a quantum mechanical theory, which can be used to derive thermodynamic properties of interest. (Klamt, 1993, 1995, 2003). We proposed excess mixing enthalpies of drug and polymer could be calculated using the COSMO-RS theory. This new approach was applied to screen precipitation inhibitors for three model compounds, all of which showed a strong positive correlation between the rank assigned based on the calculated free enthalpy of mixing and the overall formulation performance. 6. Conclusion This body of work aimed to improve the processes underpinning the design and development of mesoporous silica with precipitation inhibitors. Firstly, this involved two extensive literature reviews in the area of solubility enhancement formulation technologies and precipitation inhibition. Secondly, a mechanistic rational and experimental approach was developed to improve the formulation of precipitation inhibitors with mesoporous silica, the “co-incorporation” approach significantly improved process efficiency and formulation performance. Finally, combining insights from the aforementioned review, and learnings from the mechanistic analysis of the “co-incorporation” approach, an in silico screening protocol was developed to calculate the enthalpy of interaction between drug and polymer, to identify the most optimal precipitation inhibitor for a given formulation.

A Review on Precipitation inhibitors in supersaturable self emulsifying drug delivery system

The super saturable formulation has been widely used as an effective method to improve solubility and oral absorption of poorly aqueous-soluble drugs. When the super saturable formulation comes in contact with gastrointestinal fluids, its drug concentration goes over the equilibrium solubility, but this state does not exist for too long, the drug may precipitate before being absorbed, which minimizes the efficacy and bioavailability of the drug. Therefore, it is necessary to inhibit or retard the precipitation of drugs to achieve the maximum benefits of the super saturable formulation. Polymers (watersoluble and insoluble) are the commonly used excipients to inhibit precipitation. Cyclodextrins and surfactants are the other two excipients used as precipitation inhibitors. In some of the cases, even solid carriers can effectively retard precipitation. The precipitation inhibitors (PI) have the capacity to maintain a super saturable state of the formulation in GI for a particular time period. Therefore, it is important to properly select the precipitation inhibitor; too frequently used methods to select precipitation inhibitor are casting film method and solvent-shift method. Such selected and successfully used precipitation inhibitors are HPMC E5LV, PVP K17, HPMC E5, soluplus, poloxamer 407, HPMCAS, maltodextrin (mal) and microcrystalline cellulose (mcc). Since the super saturable technique has been widely used for delivering poorly water-soluble drugs like ezetimibe, indirubin, feno fibrate, butyl paraben and rosu vastatin calcium. There is a necessity for bio relevant evaluation of supersaturation/precipitation because simple methods like dissolution tests cannot be bio relevant in a supersaturation/precipitation context. Some of the important factors like sink versus non-sink conditions, hydrodynamic, medium selection and temperature play a vital role in the evaluation of in-vitro supersaturation

Inhibition of calcium and magnesium carbonate crystallization with sodium polyacrylate

It is known that when water are used for technological purposes, in circulating water supply systems of enterprises as a coolant during continuous heating and cooling, the formation of insoluble precipitates, most often calcium carbonates, occurs on the walls of heat exchangers, which leads to a large number of problems, even production can be stopped for cleaning equipment. To prevent the formation of salts, it is necessary to use precipitation inhibitors. Sodium polyacrylate was investigated as a precipitation inhibitor. The composition, morphology and IR spectra of calcium carbonate precipitate obtained in the absence and in the presence of sodium polyacrylate were studied. It was established that the effect of sodium polyacrylate on the mechanism of crystallization of carbonate sediment depends on the pH of the initial solution. The results of IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and images obtained by electron microscopy indicate the participation of polymer molecules in the formation of the crystalline structure of the carbonate precipitate.