Electrospun orally disintegrating film formulation of telmisartan.

Telmisartan (TEL) is an antihypertensive BCS class II drug with low solubility at physiological pH. However, the solubility of TEL increases with the presence of an alkalizer. Electrospinning is one of the most recent techniques for the solubility enhancement studies. In this study, an electrospun orally disintegrating film (ODF) formulation of TEL was developed with L-arginine and polyvinylpyrrolidone K90 (PVP), and its characterization studies were performed. Preformulation studies were performed to investigate possible incompatibilities in the components of formulation with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) analyses. ODFs were characterized in terms of drug content and uniformity, mechanical properties, fiber shape and diameter and in vitro dissolution profile. Smooth nanofibers without any beads were obtained. The dissolution rate of the TEL significantly increased. The chosen formulation had acceptable mechanical properties with much faster dissolution compared to the commercially available product. Developed ODF and marketed product were compared with a dissolution study in phosphate-buffered solution (pH 7.4). ODF and marketed product both reached 100% release in the 45th minute, and ODF results showed that ODF had much faster release than marketed product. In this study, TEL ODF formulation was successfully produced and characterized.

Supersaturable self-microemulsifying drug delivery system enhances dissolution and bioavailability of telmisartan.

To enhance the dissolution and oral bioavailability of telmisartan (TMS), a poorly water-soluble anti-hypertensive drug, a supersaturable self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SuSMEDDS) was developed. Amorphous alkalinized TMS (AAT) was formulated into a SMEDDS, composed of Capmul® MCM (oil), Cremophor® RH40 (surfactant), and tetraglycol (co-surfactant). Although the SMEDDS was rapidly dissolved (>80% within 5 min) in a limited condition (500 mL, pH 6.8), drug precipitation was observed over time, resulting in a decrease in dissolution levels. The precipitation was due to drug recrystallization, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry and powder X-ray diffraction analyses. Several polymers, including Soluplus® (SOL), were screened as precipitation inhibitors; ultimately, SuSMEDDS-SOL was prepared by admixing SOL and the SMEDDS at a 5:100 (w/w) ratio. SuSMEDDS-SOL was superior in terms of dissolution efficiency (>90% over 2 h) and dissolution-retaining time (no precipitation over 2 h). An in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rats revealed that the oral bioavailability of SuSMEDDS-SOL was 4.8-, 1.3-, and 1.2-fold greater than those of the TMS suspension, AAT solution, and SMEDDS, respectively. Therefore, SuSMEDDS-SOL is a promising candidate to enhance the dissolution and oral bioavailability of TMS.

Implication of Coformer Structural Diversity on Cocrystallization Outcomes of Telmisartan with Improved Biopharmaceutical Performance.

Crystal engineering approach was utilized for the development of different multicomponent solid forms of telmisartan (TEL) to improve its oral bioavailability. In this context, two cocrystals, gentisic acid (GA) and maleic acid (MA), while two eutectic mixtures, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and adipic acid (AA), were successfully prepared and characterized by different analytical tools. Both the cocrystals exhibited characteristic heterosynthons, viz. OHacid⋯Narom and OHacid⋯O, to propagate new network. Structural features of coformers has been correlated with the outcomes of cocrystallization approach. Coformers having auxiliary functionality in addition to complementary functional groups have high propensity to generate cocrystals. However, multicomponent where auxiliary functionality is lacking, such combinations, is shown to form eutectic mixtures owing to strong homomeric interaction. Besides, the developed cocrystals and eutectic mixtures showed higher aqueous solubility (3-5.5-fold) and intrinsic dissolution rate (1-2.6-fold) over pure TEL. In vivo studies also revealed significant improvement in relative bioavailability (2-2.6-fold). The study also shed light on the implications of eutectic mixtures in mitigating the solubility issues of drugs which are often considered negative results of cocrystallization strategy.