The Twofold Advantage of the Amorphous Form as an Oral Drug Delivery Practice for Lipophilic Compounds: Increased Apparent Solubility and Drug Flux Through the Intestinal Membrane

Journal Title: The AAPS Journal - Year 2013, Vol 15, Issue 2

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to assess the efficiency of different nifedipine amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) in achieving and maintaining supersaturation and to investigate the solubility–permeability interplay when increasing the apparent solubility via ASD formulations. Spray-dried ASDs of nifedipine in three different hydrophilic polymers, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMC-AS), copovidone, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), were prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The ability of these formulations to achieve and maintain supersaturation over 24 h was assessed. Then, nifedipine’s apparent intestinal permeability was investigated as a function of increasing supersaturation in the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay model and in the single-pass rat intestinal perfusion model. The efficiency of the different ASDs to achieve and maintain supersaturation of nifedipine was found to be highly polymer dependent; while a dispersion in HPMC-AS enabled supersaturation 20× that of the crystalline aqueous solubility, a dispersion in copovidone enabled 10×, and PVP allowed supersaturation of only 5× that of the crystalline solubility. Nifedipine flux across the intestine from supersaturated solutions was increased, and the apparent intestinal permeability was constant, irrespective of the degree of supersaturation or the polymer being used. In conclusion, while with other solubility-enabling approaches (e.g., surfactants, cyclodextrins, cosolvents), it is not enough to increase the apparent solubility, but to strike the optimal solubility–permeability balance, which limits the chances for successful drug delivery, the amorphous form emerges as a more advantageous strategy, in which higher apparent solubility (i.e., supersaturation) will be readily translated into higher drug flux and overall absorption.

Authors and Affiliations

Arik Dahan, Avital Beig, Viktoriya Ioffe-Dahan, Riad Agbaria, Jonathan M Miller

Keywords

Related Articles

BCS Biowaivers: Similarities and Differences Among EMA, FDA, and WHO Requirements

The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), based on aqueous solubility and intestinal permeability, has enjoyed wide use since 1995 as a mechanism for waiving in vivo bioavailability and bioequivalence studies. In...

Evaluation of an Innovative Population Pharmacokinetic-Based Design for Behavioral Pharmacodynamic Endpoints

Pre-clinical behavioral pharmacology studies supporting indications like analgesia typically consist of at least three different studies; dose-finding, duration of effect, and tolerance-development studies. Pharmacokinet...

Prediction of Deleterious Non-synonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms of Human Uridine Diphosphate Glucuronosyltransferase Genes

The online version of this article (doi:10.1208/s12248-009-9126-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Does the Systemic Plasma Profile Inform the Liver Profile? Analysis Using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model and Individual Compounds

The online version of this article (doi:10.1208/s12248-016-9895-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Triple Recycling Processes Impact Systemic and Local Bioavailability of Orally Administered Flavonoids

The online version of this article (doi:10.1208/s12248-015-9732-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP681092
  • DOI  10.1208/s12248-012-9445-3
  • Views 45
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Arik Dahan, Avital Beig, Viktoriya Ioffe-Dahan, Riad Agbaria, Jonathan M Miller (2013). The Twofold Advantage of the Amorphous Form as an Oral Drug Delivery Practice for Lipophilic Compounds: Increased Apparent Solubility and Drug Flux Through the Intestinal Membrane. The AAPS Journal, 15(2), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-681092