Budesonide (BDS) is a potent active pharmaceutical ingredient, often administered using respirato... more Budesonide (BDS) is a potent active pharmaceutical ingredient, often administered using respiratory devices such as metered dose inhalers, nebulizers, and dry powder inhalers. Inhalable drug particles are conventionally produced by crystallization followed by milling. This approach tends to generate partially amorphous materials that require post-processing to improve the formulations' stability. Other methods involve homogenization or precipitation and often require the use of stabilizers, mostly surfactants. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a novel method for preparation of fine BDS particles using a microfluidic reactor coupled with ultrasonic spray freeze drying, and hence avoiding the need of additional homogenization or stabilizer use. A T-junction microfluidic reactor was employed to produce particle suspension (using an ethanol-water, methanol-water, and an acetone-water system), which was directly fed into an ultrasonic atomization probe, followed by direct feeding to liquid nitrogen. Freeze drying was the final preparation step. The result was fine crystalline BDS powders which, when blended with lactose and dispersed in an Aerolizer at 100 L/min, generated fine particle fraction in the range 47.6% ± 2.8% to 54.9% ± 1.8%, thus exhibiting a good aerosol performance. Subsequent sample analysis confirmed the suitability of the developed method to produce inhalable drug particles without additional homogenization or stabilizers. The developed method provides a viable solution for particle isolation in microfluidics in general.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in formulating solid dispersions, which purpose... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in formulating solid dispersions, which purposes mainly include solubility enhancement, sustained drug release and taste masking. The most notable problem by these dispersions is drug-carrier (in)solubility. Here we focus on solubility parameters as a tool for predicting the solubility of a drug in certain carriers. Solubility parameters were determined in two different ways: solely by using calculation methods, and by experimental approaches. Six different calculation methods were applied in order to calculate the solubility parameters of the drug ibuprofen and several excipients. However, we were not able to do so in the case of ibuprofen lysinate, as calculation models for salts are still not defined. Therefore, the extended Hansen's approach and inverse gas chromatography (IGC) were used for evaluating of solubility parameters for ibuprofen lysinate. The obtained values of the total solubility parameter did not differ much between the two methods: by the extended Hansen's approach it was δt = 31.15 MPa 0.5 and with IGC it was δ t = 35.17 MPa 0.5. However, the values of partial solubility parameters, i.e., δ d , δ p and δ h , did differ from each other, what might be due to the complex behaviour of a salt in the presence of various solvents.
European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jan 21, 2015
The number of poorly water-soluble drug candidates is rapidly increasing; this represents a major... more The number of poorly water-soluble drug candidates is rapidly increasing; this represents a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. As a consequence, novel formulation approaches are required. Furthermore, if such a drug candidate is intended for the therapy of a specific group of the population, such as geriatric or pediatric, the formulation challenge is even greater, with the need to produce a dosage form that is acceptable for specific patients. Therefore, the goal of our study was to explore electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers as a novel nanodelivery system adopted for the oromucosal administration of poorly water-soluble drugs. The nanofibers were evaluated in comparison with polymer films loaded with ibuprofen or carvedilol as the model drugs. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the amount of incorporated drug affects the diameter and the morphology of the nanofibers. The average fiber diameter increased with a higher drug loading, whereas the morpho...
The influence of different additives on the mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl methylcellulos... more The influence of different additives on the mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) free films was studied using tensile testing. Free films were prepared using the cast method and sliced into bands, and their tensile strength and maximal elongation at break was measured. The results showed that the addition of PEG 400 and polysorbate 80 into the coating formulation had the most influence on the films' mechanical properties compared to the HPMC film used as a control. Tablet cores composed of microcrystalline cellulose and lactose with and without Mg stearate and compressed at three different compression forces were tested for wettability with coating formulations containing PEG 400 and polysorbate 80. For formulations with no Mg stearate added, the contact angle decreased with increasing core hardness and it also coincided with greater adhesion force of the coating. The addition of Mg stearate in the core led to reduced adhesion of the film coating with PE...
Budesonide (BDS) is a potent active pharmaceutical ingredient, often administered using respirato... more Budesonide (BDS) is a potent active pharmaceutical ingredient, often administered using respiratory devices such as metered dose inhalers, nebulizers, and dry powder inhalers. Inhalable drug particles are conventionally produced by crystallization followed by milling. This approach tends to generate partially amorphous materials that require post-processing to improve the formulations' stability. Other methods involve homogenization or precipitation and often require the use of stabilizers, mostly surfactants. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a novel method for preparation of fine BDS particles using a microfluidic reactor coupled with ultrasonic spray freeze drying, and hence avoiding the need of additional homogenization or stabilizer use. A T-junction microfluidic reactor was employed to produce particle suspension (using an ethanol-water, methanol-water, and an acetone-water system), which was directly fed into an ultrasonic atomization probe, followed by direct feeding to liquid nitrogen. Freeze drying was the final preparation step. The result was fine crystalline BDS powders which, when blended with lactose and dispersed in an Aerolizer at 100 L/min, generated fine particle fraction in the range 47.6% ± 2.8% to 54.9% ± 1.8%, thus exhibiting a good aerosol performance. Subsequent sample analysis confirmed the suitability of the developed method to produce inhalable drug particles without additional homogenization or stabilizers. The developed method provides a viable solution for particle isolation in microfluidics in general.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in formulating solid dispersions, which purpose... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in formulating solid dispersions, which purposes mainly include solubility enhancement, sustained drug release and taste masking. The most notable problem by these dispersions is drug-carrier (in)solubility. Here we focus on solubility parameters as a tool for predicting the solubility of a drug in certain carriers. Solubility parameters were determined in two different ways: solely by using calculation methods, and by experimental approaches. Six different calculation methods were applied in order to calculate the solubility parameters of the drug ibuprofen and several excipients. However, we were not able to do so in the case of ibuprofen lysinate, as calculation models for salts are still not defined. Therefore, the extended Hansen's approach and inverse gas chromatography (IGC) were used for evaluating of solubility parameters for ibuprofen lysinate. The obtained values of the total solubility parameter did not differ much between the two methods: by the extended Hansen's approach it was δt = 31.15 MPa 0.5 and with IGC it was δ t = 35.17 MPa 0.5. However, the values of partial solubility parameters, i.e., δ d , δ p and δ h , did differ from each other, what might be due to the complex behaviour of a salt in the presence of various solvents.
European journal of pharmaceutical sciences : official journal of the European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jan 21, 2015
The number of poorly water-soluble drug candidates is rapidly increasing; this represents a major... more The number of poorly water-soluble drug candidates is rapidly increasing; this represents a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. As a consequence, novel formulation approaches are required. Furthermore, if such a drug candidate is intended for the therapy of a specific group of the population, such as geriatric or pediatric, the formulation challenge is even greater, with the need to produce a dosage form that is acceptable for specific patients. Therefore, the goal of our study was to explore electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers as a novel nanodelivery system adopted for the oromucosal administration of poorly water-soluble drugs. The nanofibers were evaluated in comparison with polymer films loaded with ibuprofen or carvedilol as the model drugs. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the amount of incorporated drug affects the diameter and the morphology of the nanofibers. The average fiber diameter increased with a higher drug loading, whereas the morpho...
The influence of different additives on the mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl methylcellulos... more The influence of different additives on the mechanical properties of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) free films was studied using tensile testing. Free films were prepared using the cast method and sliced into bands, and their tensile strength and maximal elongation at break was measured. The results showed that the addition of PEG 400 and polysorbate 80 into the coating formulation had the most influence on the films' mechanical properties compared to the HPMC film used as a control. Tablet cores composed of microcrystalline cellulose and lactose with and without Mg stearate and compressed at three different compression forces were tested for wettability with coating formulations containing PEG 400 and polysorbate 80. For formulations with no Mg stearate added, the contact angle decreased with increasing core hardness and it also coincided with greater adhesion force of the coating. The addition of Mg stearate in the core led to reduced adhesion of the film coating with PE...
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