Ketoprofen is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which is used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The oral administration of ketoprofen can cause gastric irritation and adverse renal effects. Transdermal delivery of the drug can bypass gastrointestinal disturbances and provide relatively consistent drug concentrations at the site of administration. The release of ketoprofen from proprietary gel products from three different countries was evaluated by comparing the in vitro release profiles. Twenty extemporaneously prepared ketoprofen gel formulations using Carbopol® polymers were manufactured. The effect of polymer, drug concentration, pH and solvent systems on the in vitro release of ketoprofen from these formulations were investigated. The gels were evaluated for drug content and pH. The release of the drug from all the formulations obeyed the Higuchi principle. Two static FDA approved diffusion cells, namely the modified Franz diffusion cell and the European Pharmacopoeia diffusion cell, were compared by measuring the in vitro release rate of ketoprofen from all the gel formulations through a synthetic silicone membrane. High-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectrophotometric analytical techniques were both used for the analysis of ketoprofen. The validated methods were employed for the determination of ketoprofen in the sample solutions taken from the receptor fluid. Two of the three proprietary products registered under the same manufacturing license exhibited similar results whereas the third product differed significantly. Among the variables investigated, the vehicle pH and solvent composition were found have the most significant effect on the in vitro release of ketoprofen from Carbopol® polymers. The different grades of Carbopol® polymers showed statistically significantly different release kinetics with respect to lag time. When evaluating the proprietary products, both the modified Franz diffusion cell and the European Pharmacopoeia diffusion cell were deemed adequate although higher profiles were generally obtained from the European Pharmacopoeia diffusion cells. Smoother diffusion profiles were obtained from samples analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography than by ultraviolet spectrophotometry in both diffusion cells. Sample solutions taken from Franz diffusion cells and analysed by ultraviolet spectrophotometry also produced smooth diffusion profiles. Erratic and higher diffusion profiles were observed with samples taken from the European Pharmacopoeia diffusion cell and analysed by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The choice of diffusion cells and analytical procedure in product development must be weighed against the relatively poor reproducibility as observed with the European Pharmacopoeia diffusion cell.

The research undertaken in these studies aimed to investigate the feasibility of developing and manufacturing innovative solid lipid carriers, such as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and/or nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) using a hot high pressure homogenization method, for didanosine(DDI). In addition, studies using in vitro differential protein adsorption were undertaken to establish whether the SLN and/or NLC have the potential to deliver DDI to the central nervous system (CNS). Prior to initiating pre-formulation, formulation development and optimization studies of DDI-Ioaded SLN and/or NLC, it was necessary to develop and validate an analytical method for the in vitro quantitation and analysis of DDI. An accurate, precise and sensitive RP-HPLC method with UV detection set at 248 nm was developed, optimized and validated for the quantitative in vitro analysis of DDI in formulations. Pre-formulation studies were designed to evaluate the thermal stability of DDI and to select and characterize lipid excipients that may be used for the manufacture of the nanocarriers. It was established that DDI is thermostable at temperatures not exceeding 163°C and therefore a hot high pressure homogenization technique could be used to manufacture DDI-loaded SLN and/or NLC. Lipid screening studies revealed that DDI is poorly soluble in both solid and liquid lipids. A combination of Precirol® ATO 5 and Transcutol® HP was found to have the best solubilizing-potential for DDI of all lipids investigated. The inclusion of Transcutol® HP into Precirol® ATO 5 changed the polymorphic form of the solid lipid from the stable 13-modification to a material that exhibited the co-existence between α- and β-polymorphic forms. The relatively high solubility of DDI in Transcutol® HP compared to Precirol® ATO 5 was an indication that a solid lipid matrix prepared from a binary mixture of Precirol® ATO 5 and Transcutol® HP was likely to have a higher loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency for DDI than a matrix consisting of Precirol® ATO 5 alone. Furthermore, the potential for the solid lipid matrix to exist in the α- and/or β-modifications when Transcutol® HP was added to Precirol® ATO 5 suggested that expulsion of DDI from a solid lipid matrix during prolonged storage periods was likely to be minimal. Therefore it was considered logical to investigate the feasibility of incorporating DDI into NLC and not in SLN. However, due to the limited solubility of DDI in lipids, formulation development of DDI-loaded NLC commenced using small quantities of DDI. Formulation development and optimization studies of DDI-loaded NLC were initially aimed at selecting a surfactant system that was capable of stabilizing NLC in an aqueous environment. Solutol® HS alone or a ternary mixture consisting of Solutol® HS, Tween® 80 and Lutrol® F68 was found to stabilize the nanoparticles in terms of particle size and the polydispersity index. The use of the ternary mixture as the surfactant system was preferred to using Solutol® HS alone as Lutrol® F68 and especially Tween® 80 have been successfully used to target the delivery of API to the brain. Aqueous DDI-free and DDI-Ioaded NLC containing increasing amounts of DDI were manufactured using hot high pressure homogenization at 800 bar for three cycles. The NLC formulations were characterized in terms of particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and polymorphism, degree of crystallinity, encapsulation efficiency (EE), shape and surface morphology. The mean particle size for all formulations was below 250 nm with narrow polydispersity indices, indicating that narrow particle size distribution had been achieved. The d99% values for all formulations tested, were generated using laser diffractometry, and were below 400 nm, with span values ranging from 0.84 - 1.19 also suggesting that a narrow particle size distribution had been achieved. The zeta potential values measured in double distilled water with the conductivity adjusted to 50 μS/cm ranged from -18.4 to -11.4 mV. In addition, all the formulations showed a decrease in the degree of crystallinity as compared to the bulk lipid material and WAXS shows that the formulations existed in a single β-modification form. Furthermore DDI that had been incorporated into the NLC appeared to be molecularly dispersed in the lipid matrices. These parameters remained unaffected for most formulations following storage for two months at 25°C. In addition these formulations contained a mixture of spherical and non-spherical particles irrespective of the amount of DDI that was added during the manufacture of the formulations. These studies showed that it was feasible to develop and incorporate small amounts of DDI into NLC. However in order to use these delivery systems for oral administration of DDI to paediatric patients, strategies to improve the amount of DDI that could be loaded into the particles and to achieve high encapsulation efficiencies had to be developed. The limited solubility of DDI in lipid media was identified as a major factor that affected the loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of DDI in the NLC. Therefore, a novel strategy aimed at increasing the saturation solubility of DDI in the lipid by attempting to increase the dissolution velocity of the drug in the lipid using a particle size reduction approach, was designed and investigated. DDI was dispersed in Transcutol® HP and the particle size of DDI in the liquid lipid medium was reduced gradually using hot high pressure homogenization and the product obtained from these studies was used to manufacture DDI-loaded NLC using a cold high pressure homogenization procedure. Although the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading following use of this approach was relatively high, the particles were large and showed a tendency to grow in size leading to the formation of microparticles after storage for two months at 25°C. In addition, the degree of crystallinity of the nanoparticles increased rapidly over the same storage period which led to expulsion of DDI nanoparticles for the NLC, despite the DDI loading in NLC being unaffected. It was clearly evident that this new approach of manufacturing solid lipid nanocarriers could be used as a platform not only for enhancing the loading capacity of DDI in solid lipid nanocarriers but also for other hydrophilic drugs. Differential protein adsorption patterns of DDI-loaded NLC were generated in vitro using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) in order to establish the potential for these systems to deliver DDI to the CNS. NLC formulations containing small amounts of DDI were used as these formulations showed a better stability profile than the formulation with a higher encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity. Furthermore, the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading of DDI were considered sufficient for use in 2-D PAGE studies. Data obtained from 2-D PAGE analysis reveal that DDI-loaded NLC preferentially adsorb proteins in vitro that are responsible for specific brain targeting in vivo. More importantly, these studies reveal that in addition to Tween® 80 that has already been shown to have the potential to target CDDS to the brain, Solutol® HS 15 has the potential to achieve a similar objective. Consequently, DDI-loaded NLC have the potential to deliver DDI to the brain and these results may be used as a platform for conducting in vivo studies to establish whether DDI can cross the blood brain barrier and enter the CNS when administered in NLC which may in turn lead to a major breakthrough in the management of HIV/AIDS and Aids Dementia Complex (ADC).

The topical application of many substances, including drugs, enzymes, moisturizers and fragrances, contributes largely to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These components are often volatile in nature and dissipate in a matter of hours. When considering the different types of slow release systems, an overwhelming variety of these systems is available. Each one of the systems is unique in a way, and is designed to perform a particular function, whether it facilitates the controlled release of an active into the body via the skin surface (transdermal delivery) or whether it reduces the rate of loss of an active from the skin surface to the surrounding environment. For the purpose of this study, a previously existing fixative formulation which is believed to reduce the rate of loss of an active component to the environment, through film formation on the skin surface, was investigated. Alternative ingredients or components were incorporated together with the original fixative formulation ingredients into an experimental design which investigates the effect of each group of the components present. 18 formulations with various concentrations of the components within the groups and specified upper and lower limits for each component were formulated. The fixative properties of the formulations were analysed through the incorporation of a fixed amount of a simple fragrance molecule, 4- methoxybenzaldehyde, into each formulation and evaporation studies were conducted in an environmental room at 28±1° C over a period of 5 hours followed by gas chromatography analysis and finally data analyses using statistical methods. The most efficient fixative formulation was established using regression analysis. The fragrance compound in this formulation was found to evaporate at a rate of 0.47 g/L per hour. The least efficient fixative formulation lead to the loss of 0.78 g/L of the fragrance component per hour. From the calculated fragrance concentrations, the rate constant for each individual fixative formulation could be calculated and response surface 8 modelling by backward regression was used in order to determine how each component contributes to the rate of loss of the fragrance compound. Since the sum of the original ingredient and its alternative was constant, each of the original ingredients was coupled directly to its alternative and no conclusion could be made about the contribution of individual components. By increasing the concentration of Hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) 100K and its alternative HPC 140K, while keeping the effects of the other components constant, a decrease in the rate of fragrance loss was observed. The same conclusion could be made when increasing the concentrations of PEG-12 Dimethicone and its alternative cetyl dimethicone (decreases the evaporation rate). An interaction took place between HPC 100K and PEG-12 dimethicone and their alternatives. The negative effect was, however, not as strong as the combined positive effect on the rate of fragrance loss of the individual components HPC and PEG-12 dimethicone. Evidence suggested that the removal of the components polyvinylpyrrolidone and its alternative, polyurethane-32 (Baycusan® C1003), would improve the effectiveness of the fixative formulation in terms of its slow release properties. A confirmation experiment established that the exclusion of these components from the fixative formulation does improve the “slow release” properties thereof. A larger, more intricate design is required to investigate the effect of each one of the individual components and where the sum of the components (original and its alternative) is not constant.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi sintetizar e caracterizar um material reparador para uso endodôntico com propriedades anti-inflamatória, antimicrobiana e remineralizante. A pasta experimental tem como propósito ser um sistema carreador de fármacos para regiões de difícil acesso em Odontologia. A apresentação do material é em forma de pó:líquido. No pó se encontra α-fosfato tricálcico, tungstato de cálcio e microesferas de amoxicilina (AMX-MS), já no líquido estão contidas nanocápsulas de indometacina (IndOHNC). A pasta experimental foi testada em relação a suas características físicoquímicas e biológicas. As AMX-MS obtiveram tamanho de 1,604 μm ± 0,08, forma esférica confirmada por MEV e teor da droga foi 1,63 mg g-1. As IndOHNC obtiveram tamanho de 162 ± 7,5 nm e forma esférica confirmada por MET. O teor do fármaco foi de 1 mg mL-1 ± 0,02. O escoamento da pasta foi de 18.56 ± 0.29, a espessura de película obtida foi 33 μm e radiopacidade de 1,81 mmAl. A pasta experimental demonstrou atividade antibacteriana contra o Enterococcus faecalis. A maior concentração de pasta experimental apresentou o maior valor em relação à viabilidade celular, com 187,03% no teste SRB. A atividade da enzima fosfatase alcalina e a formação de nódulos mineralizados obtiveram um gradual aumento em função do tempo. A migração celular demonstrou fechamento da ferida, e a pasta experimental foi capaz de acelerar o processo (p<0.05). Em conclusão, a pasta experimental demonstrou propriedades físico químicas e biológicas confiáveis, podendo ser um material promissor para o reparo da região periapical. / The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize a new reparative material with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and remineralizing properties. The reparative material was developed to be a drug delivery system for regions with difficult access in Dentistry. The formulation is presented in powder/liquid. The powder is composed of α-tricalcium phosphate, calcium tungstate and amoxicillin microspheres (AMX-MS). The liquid is composed of nanocapsules containing indomethacin (IndOH-NC). The physicochemical and biological properties of the experimental endodontic paste were evaluated. The AMX-MS obtained a mean size of 1.604 μm ± 0.08, spherical shape and the encapsulation capacity was 1.63 mg g-1. IndOH-NCs obtained a mean size of 162 ± 7.5 nm and spherical shape confirm by MET. The content of the encapsulated drug was 1 mg mL-1 ± 0.02. The experimental paste flow was 18.56 ± 0.29 mm, mean film thickness was 33 μm and radiopacity equivalent to 1.81 mmAl. The experimental paste showed antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis. The highest concentration of experimental paste presented the highest value in cell viability (187.03% in SRB test). The activity of the phosphatase alkaline enzyme and the formation of mineralized nodules showed a gradual increase as a function of time. Cell proliferation showed continuous wound closure, and the experimental paste was able to accelerate the process (p<0.05). In conclusion, the experimental paste demonstrated reliable physicochemical and biological properties, and it could be a promising material for periapical region repair.

A major drawback of chemotherapy is the lack of selectively leading to damage in healthy tissue, which results in severe acute side effects to cancer patients. The use of nanoparticles as a drug delivery system has emerged as novel strategy to overcome the barriers of immunogenic response, controlled release of therapeutic, and targeting the toxicity only to cancerous cells. In this study, polymeric nanoparticles composed of transition metals and particles derived from natural biopolymers have been generated via self-assembly. For example, nanoparticles composed of cobalt crosslinked with albumin (Co-alb NPs) via Co-amine coordination chemistry of lysine residue were syntheisized in various sizes. The method to generate Co-alb NPs involves no thermal heat, organic solvent or any surfactants, which is ideal for the production of large amounts in a timely manner. The Co-alb NPs displayed exceptional stability under physiological conditions (pH 7.4) for several days with minor changes in size; however degradation could be triggered by reductant (reduced glutathione (GSH), 10 mM) with complete disappearance of particles in less than 2 hour. Numerous therapeutics that are highly effective toward cancer cells have been developed; however, many cannot be administered to patients due to poor solubility in water and pH dependent properties. We have successfully encapsulated 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycampothecin (SN-38) into Co-alb NPs with encapsulation efficiency as high as 94% and loading capacities greater than 30%. We employed an emulsion-solvent evaporation method to incorporate SN-38 into Co-alb (SN38 Co-Alb NPs). Release of the drug from SN38 Co-Alb NPs was determined for particles incubated in PBS or PBS-GSH. SN38 Co-Alb NPs were exceptionally stable under physiological condition (PBS pH 7.4), but exhibited sustained release of SN-38 over time in the presence of GSH. Uptake and toxicity of the particles were also investigated in a gastric carcinoma cell line (SNU-5) where high degrees of macropinocytic uptake were observed. The particles displayed significant toxicity making them a prime candidate for further testing in animal models.

No description available.

The potential use of polymeric, functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) as drug delivery vectors was explored. Covalent conjugation of albumin to the surface of NPs via maleimide chemistry proved problematic. However, microwave assisted synthesis of NPs was not only time efficient, but enabled the exploration of size control by changing the following parameters: temperature, microwave power, reaction time, initiator concentration, and percentage of monomer used. About 1.5 g of fluorescently-labeled, carboxylic acid-functionalized NPs (100 nm diameter) were synthesized for a total cost of less than $1. Future work will address further functionalization of the NPs for the coupling of albumin (or other targeted proteins), and tests for in vivo biodistribution.

Thesis (M. Pharm. (Pharmaceutics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Various approaches have been developed to retain dosage forms in the gastrointestinal tract. One of the commonly used approaches is the use of microspheres. Due to their intrinsic low density and small size, they are distributed throughout the gastrointestinal tract which improves drug absorption thus improving bioavailability. Ranitidine hydrochloride, an antiulcer drug is poorly absorbed from the lower gastrointestinal tract and has a short half-life of 2.5-3 hours. The aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate gastroretentive microspheres of ranitidine hydrochloride in order to extend gastric retention in the upper gastrointestinal tract, which may result in enhanced absorption and thus improved bioavailability. Pre-formulation studies were conducted to develop and validate the analytical method to identify and quantify ranitidine hydrochloride; to select the suitable polymers for further formulation development and; to determine the compatibility of the chosen polymers with ranitidine hydrochloride. The analytical method was validated and found to be sensitive, linear, precise and accurate. Preliminary formulations lead to the selection of ethyl cellulose and PEG 4000 as polymers and solvent evaporation as the method of manufacture. Compatibility studies were determined by DSC/TGA, FTIR and short-term accelerated studies and no incompatibilities were observed. Two prototype formulations of the preliminary formulations F24 and F26 were manufactured comprised of varying drug: polymer concentration. The microspheres were evaluated for morphology, particle size, flow properties, percentage yield, buoyancy and in vitro drug release. Both formulations resulted in spherical microspheres with good flow properties, high yield and buoyancy studies revealed that the microspheres would float immediately upon contact with the dissolution media and floating would continue for more than 8 hours. In vitro drug release studies revealed that polymer concentration greatly affected drug release. Dissolution kinetic studies revealed that formulation F24 and v F26 were best described by the Korsmeyer-Peppas and Higuchi kinetic models respectively. Formulation F26 was considered the best formulation, which comprised of a drug: PEG 4000 ratio of 1:2 w/w, as it yielded better in better drug encapsulation, better buoyancy results and had complete drug release.

Over the last six decades, the field of drug delivery has advanced considerably, from sustained oral release technology to pH-responsive polymers. Innovation in the space has progressed alongside the development of new categories of drugs, as well as improvements in electronics and material science which have enabled new modalities of external stimulation. Nevertheless, the traditional challenges of drug delivery persist, including the need to reduce off-target toxicity, minimize invasiveness of administration, and bypass biological barriers; these challenges are particularly apparent for drug delivery applications in difficult-to-reach areas of the body, such as tumors or areas beyond the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore, as therapeutics become more targeted, the need for corresponding delivery methods becomes even more vital to ensure treatment effectiveness with minimal side effects. In this dissertation, we aim to demonstrate a new strategy for on-demand and localized drug delivery which is easy to fabricate and delivers a large payload relative to device size, is responsive to external stimulation for triggered release, and can be integrated into a system for real-time actuation during a physiological process. In Aim 1, we developed a microfluidic fabrication technique for making biphasic microcapsules loaded with model drug. This method relied on microfluidic droplet methods, with sufficient interfacial tension between two on-chip phases to cause droplet formation. Typically, these systems rely on an aqueous-oil interface for sufficient interfacial tension; to fabricate a biocompatible microcapsule, we formed biphasic microcapsules composed of an aqueous-based inner and outer phase, without an oil intermediate phase, with aqueous two-phase system properties. Additionally, we incorporated on-chip photopolymerization, designing the microfluidic chip and light source to minimize refracted ultraviolet exposure. The resulting drug-loaded microcapsules were stable, with minimal background leakage. This fabrication technique can produce a high-throughput supply of monodisperse microcapsules, which can be modified for a variety of therapeutic payloads and easily injected in targeted region in the body. In Aim 2, we adapted these drug-loaded microcapsules for ultrasound-triggered release. Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a minimally-invasive method of stimulating release from a device, which can penetrate deep within the body and is compatible with a variety of materials; when applied at sufficient intensity and duration, it can induce heating, cavitation, or both. We tuned the applied ultrasound parameters to minimize temperature increases in surrounding tissue phantoms, while inducing step-like release profiles from the microcapsules over the course of multiple cycles of pulsed FUS. Under these applied conditions, we detected acoustic signatures consistent with inertial cavitation and visually observed structural breakdown of the microcapsules corresponding to cavitation-related effects. This release strategy is highly targeted, inducing drug release from microcapsules within a narrow focal area with minimal risk to surrounding tissue. Finally, in Aim 3, we performed in vitro demonstrations of drug-loaded actuators, as initial demonstrations towards a system of integrated sensors, actuators, and adaptive learning algorithms for closed-loop control over physiological processes involved in wound healing. We experimented with both the aforementioned microcapsules and with a liposome-loaded scaffold as drug-loaded actuators, and tested both actuators with three ultrasound transducers which offered a range of portability, intensity ranges, and imaging capacities. Next, we developed in vitro testing setups incorporating the actuators with either a cell monolayer or a three-dimensional cell construct, mimicking a wound site, and validated ultrasound-triggered drug-release with minimal cell damage. To demonstrate cell uptake of the released therapeutic agents, we modified the microcapsules’ payload, performed the in vitro release experiments, and then observed correlating cell response over the following week of culturing. These demonstrations have provided guidance towards a more integrated system, which will validate the impact of the localized actuators in stimulating enhancing wound healing rates. More broadly, the eventual integrated system, incorporating both sensors and the adaptive algorithm, will be able to sense and respond to physiological changes within a wound in real-time. This work explores how wireless, deep-tissue devices coupled with external control modalities will facilitate interventions with high spatiotemporal accuracy; when combined with sensing and regulating algorithms, it will empower real-time monitoring and interventions in physiological processes. Aim 1 focused on the fabrication of such implantable microcapsule devices and Aim 2 demonstrated a method for triggering the devices using an external control modality. In Aim 3, we investigated a use case for these microcapsules to promote rapid wound healing, alongside flexible electronics, sensors, and additional actuators. To provide additional context on implantable microdevices and biocompatibility, we provide a framework for designing medical microrobotics in Appendix I and an application of a thermally-responsive hydrogel coating in Appendix II. Overall, the sum of this work illustrates the potential impact of soft microdevices for localized and on-demand applications, towards a future of spatiotemporally-targeted biological interventions.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21356号 / 工博第4515号 / 新制||工||1703(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 藤井 聡, 准教授 QURESHI,Ali Gul, 准教授 SCHMOECKER,Jan-Dirk / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM