Direct Compaction Drug Product Process Modeling.

Most challenges during the development of solid dosage forms are related to the impact of any variations in raw material properties, batch size, or equipment scales on the product quality and the control of the manufacturing process. With the ever pertinent restrictions on time and resource availability versus heightened expectations to develop, optimize, and troubleshoot manufacturing processes, targeted and robust science-based process modeling platforms are essential. This review focuses on the modeling of unit operations and practices involved in batch manufacturing of solid dosage forms by direct compaction. An effort is made to highlight the key advances in the past five years, and to propose potentially beneficial future study directions.

Scanning Electron Microscope Observations of Powder Sticking on Punches during a Limited Number (N < 5) of Compactions of Acetylsalicylic Acid.

PURPOSE: To obtain quantitative information and mechanistic insight into the problem of sticking of acetylsalicylic acid tablets on a metallic punch. METHODS: Low voltage scanning electron microscopy was used to observe punch area coverage and morphology of adhered powder on a flat punch used for a limited number of compactions. RESULTS: Material accumulation in terms of area coverage of the punch per compaction cycle was determined at two pressures over five compactions. The distribution of the adhered material on the punch was non-uniform with more material left on the center of the punch. The sizes of the adhered particles range from 1 to 100 µm, with 50% of the punch surface coverage from particles of an equivalent diameter > 30 µm. Three types of adhered particles were identified after the first compaction: (a) fragments of initial particles with very high aspect ratio, (b) nearly equiaxed fragments with multiple cracks, (c) heavily deformed islands of low profile. Some preliminary ideas that explain these observations are presented and discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of SEM to provide quantitative information on sticking from few compactions presents an interesting possibility for a material sparing technique that provides insight on the propensity of sticking.

Risk management for moisture related effects in dry manufacturing processes: a statistical approach.

A risk- and science-based approach to control the quality in pharmaceutical manufacturing includes a full understanding of how product attributes and process parameters relate to product performance through a proactive approach in formulation and process development. For dry manufacturing, where moisture content is not directly manipulated within the process, the variability in moisture of the incoming raw materials can impact both the processability and drug product quality attributes. A statistical approach is developed using individual raw material historical lots as a basis for the calculation of tolerance intervals for drug product moisture content so that risks associated with excursions in moisture content can be mitigated. The proposed method is based on a model-independent approach that uses available data to estimate parameters of interest that describe the population of blend moisture content values and which do not require knowledge of the individual blend moisture content values. Another advantage of the proposed tolerance intervals is that, it does not require the use of tabulated values for tolerance factors. This facilitates the implementation on any spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. A computational example is used to demonstrate the proposed method.

Targeting mitochondrial dysfunction using methylene blue or mitoquinone to improve skeletal aging.

Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established antioxidant that has been shown to improve mitochondrial function in both in vitro and in vivo settings. Mitoquinone (MitoQ) is a selective antioxidant that specifically targets mitochondria and effectively reduces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. To investigate the effect of long-term administration of MB on skeletal morphology, we administered MB to aged (18 months old) female C57BL/J6 mice, as well as to adult male and female mice with a genetically diverse background (UM-HET3). Additionally, we used MitoQ as an alternative approach to target mitochondrial oxidative stress during aging in adult female and male UM-HET3 mice. Although we observed some beneficial effects of MB and MitoQ in vitro, the administration of these compounds in vivo did not alter the progression of age-induced bone loss. Specifically, treating 18-month-old female mice with MB for 6 or 12 months did not have an effect on age-related bone loss. Similarly, long-term treatment with MB from 7 to 22 months or with MitoQ from 4 to 22 months of age did not affect the morphology of cortical bone at the mid-diaphysis of the femur, trabecular bone at the distal-metaphysis of the femur, or trabecular bone at the lumbar vertebra-5 in UM-HET3 mice. Based on our findings, it appears that long-term treatment with MB or MitoQ alone, as a means to reduce skeletal oxidative stress, is insufficient to inhibit age-associated bone loss. This supports the notion that interventions solely with antioxidants may not provide adequate protection against skeletal aging.

Integrity of the network sarcoplasmic reticulum in skeletal muscle requires small ankyrin 1.

Small ankyrin 1 (sAnk1; Ank1.5) is a ~20 kDa protein of striated muscle that concentrates in the network compartment of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (nSR). We used siRNA targeted to sAnk1 to assess its role in organizing the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal myofibers in vitro. siRNA reduced sAnk1 mRNA and protein levels and disrupted the organization of the remaining sAnk1. Sarcomeric proteins were unchanged, but two other proteins of the nSR, SERCA and sarcolipin, decreased significantly in amount and segregated into distinct structures containing sarcolipin and sAnk1, and SERCA, respectively. Exogenous sAnk1 restored SERCA to its normal distribution. Ryanodine receptors and calsequestrin in the junctional SR, and L-type Ca(2+) channels in the transverse tubules were not reduced, although their striated organization was mildly altered. Consistent with the loss of SERCA, uptake and release of Ca(2+) were significantly inhibited. Our results show that sAnk1 stabilizes the nSR and that its absence causes the nSR to fragment into distinct membrane compartments.

Physiology, structure, and susceptibility to injury of skeletal muscle in mice lacking keratin 19-based and desmin-based intermediate filaments.

Intermediate filaments, composed of desmin and of keratins, play important roles in linking contractile elements to each other and to the sarcolemma in striated muscle. Our previous results show that the tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of mice lacking keratin 19 (K19) lose costameres, accumulate mitochondria under the sarcolemma, and generate lower specific tension than controls. Here we compare the physiology and morphology of TA muscles of mice lacking K19 with muscles lacking desmin or both proteins [double knockout (DKO)]. K19-/- mice and DKO mice showed a threefold increase in the levels of creatine kinase (CK) in the serum. The absence of desmin caused a larger change in specific tension (-40%) than the absence of K19 (-19%) and played the predominant role in contractile function (-40%) and decreased tolerance to exercise in the DKO muscle. By contrast, the absence of both proteins was required to obtain a significantly greater loss of contractile torque after injury (-48%) compared with wild type (-39%), as well as near-complete disruption of costameres. The DKO muscle also showed a significantly greater misalignment of myofibrils than either mutant alone. In contrast, large subsarcolemmal gaps and extensive accumulation of mitochondria were only seen in K19-null TA muscles, and the absence of both K19 and desmin yielded milder phenotypes. Our results suggest that keratin filaments containing K19- and desmin-based intermediate filaments can play independent, complementary, or antagonistic roles in the physiology and morphology of fast-twitch skeletal muscle.

HAX-1: a multifaceted antiapoptotic protein localizing in the mitochondria and the sarcoplasmic reticulum of striated muscle cells.

HAX-1 comprises a family of ubiquitously expressed proteins with antiapoptotic properties. In the current study, we investigated HAX-1's temporospatial distribution in rat striated muscles during development and in adulthood. In cardiocytes, HAX-1 is organized at the level of Z-disks throughout embryogenesis and adulthood; however, in skeletal myofibers, it is in register with M-bands during embryonic and early postnatal life and Z-disks during late postnatal and adult life. Immunoelectron microscopy and subcellular fractionation demonstrated that HAX-1 proteins localize at the mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes, as well as at sites where the two are closely apposed. Variants I and II selectively concentrate in the mitochondrial membranes, whereas variants III, IV, and V localize in both organelles, albeit to varying extents. Deletion analysis combined with cellular transfections indicated that elimination of HAX-1's NH(2)-terminus abolishes its mitochondrial targeting and attenuates its antiapoptotic capacity, while removal of its binding site for the SR protein phospholamban (PLN) prevents its translocation to the SR. Consistent with this, HAX-1 is preferentially lost from the SR of PLN-deficient hearts. Our findings are the first to present a comprehensive characterization of HAX-1's expression in striated muscles and to provide insights on the mechanisms through which it may modulate apoptosis.

Quantitative evaluation of pharmacokinetic inhibition of CYP3A substrates by ketoconazole: a simulation study.

The US Food and Drug Administration draft drug interaction guidance recommends that 400 mg ketoconazole (KTZ) be administered once daily for several days (QD400) for maximal CYP3A inhibition. Some investigators suggest that a single dose of 400 mg (SD400) KTZ is sufficient given its short half-life (t(1/2) approximately 3-5 hr). To determine the impact of KTZ regimens on CYP3A inhibition, we simulated AUC fold-change (AUCR) in the presence of SD400, QD400, or 200 mg twice-daily (BID200) KTZ for theoretical CYP3A substrates. Ratios of AUCR (AUCR(QD400)/AUCR(SD400) and AUCR(BID200) AUCR(QD400)) increase with increasing bioavailability and increasing substrate t(1/2). The SD400 KTZ regimen may provide maximal inhibition only for a subset of substrates (ie, low bioavailability and short t(1/2)). For substrates with t(1/2) longer than that of KTZ, multiple KTZ dosing is critical and BID200 appears to provide greater inhibition than QD400. Also, timing of KTZ administration should be optimized to allow maximal presystemic enzyme inhibition prior to substrate administration.

Psychrometric analysis of the environmental equivalency factor for aqueous tablet coating.

Process control of aqueous tablet coating depends on a number of thermodynamic and psychrometric variables. Since many of these variables are interdependent, the choice of parameters by which to control the process or designate a design space is not necessarily obvious. Several mass or heat conservation models for aqueous tablet coating can be found in the literature, varying in approach and proposed method for controlling the coating process. A commonly used first-principles model built upon the coupled heat and mass transfer in evaporative mass transfer derives an "Environmental Equivalency" (EE) factor as an indicator of the relative rate of water evaporation from the tablet bed surface and as a relevant scaling factor for aqueous coating. The EE factor is expressed by an equation involving ten individual parameters; however, if the derivation of EE is extended further under the context of an adiabatic process, a much-simplified yet equivalent expression for EE emerges consisting of only three parameters, each directly measurable or obtainable from a psychrometric chart and which bear direct significance to the gross thermodynamic conditions of the coating. The psychrometric model herein is presented as a more physically evocative description of the coating process, enhancing process understanding and potentially playing a key role in a Quality by Design approach to defining an aqueous coating design space.

Reproducibility of the Measurement of Bulk/Tapped Density of Pharmaceutical Powders Between Pharmaceutical Laboratories.

The bulk properties of a powder are dependent on the preparation, treatment, and storage of the sample, that is, how it was handled. The particles can be packed to have a range of bulk densities and, moreover, the slightest disturbance of the powder bed may result in a changed bulk density. Thus, the bulk density of a powder is often difficult to measure with good reproducibility and, in reporting the results, it is essential to specify how the determination was made. In this article, we measured the bulk density, tapped density, and calculated the Hausner ratio of commonly used excipients with similar tapped density testers and followed the United States Pharmacopeia 30-National Formulary 25-S1 testing procedure. Based on the analysis, within lot and lot-to-lot variability and the relative errors for bulk density, tapped density, and Hausner ratio were found to be acceptable. Lot-to-lot differences were generally not measurable using this test as they were found to be within the variability of the test. The results also indicated that there was no statistically significant bias between sites for tapped density and Hausner ratio, but there was a marginally significant bias in the bulk density data set.

New era in drug interaction evaluation: US Food and Drug Administration update on CYP enzymes, transporters, and the guidance process.

Predicting clinically significant drug interactions during drug development is a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies. Since the publication of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) first in vitro and in vivo drug interaction guidance documents in 1997 and 1999, researchers and clinicians have gained a better understanding of drug interactions. This knowledge has enabled the FDA and the industry to progress and begin to overcome these challenges. The FDA has continued its efforts to evaluate methodologies to study drug interactions and communicate recommendations regarding the conduct of drug interaction studies, particularly for CYP-based and transporter-based drug interactions, to the pharmaceutical industry. A drug interaction Web site was established to document the FDA's current understanding of drug interactions (http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/drugInteractions/default.htm). This report provides an overview of the evolution of the drug interaction guidances, includes a synopsis of the steps taken by the FDA to revise the original drug interaction guidance documents, and summarizes and highlights updated sections in the current guidance document, Drug Interaction Studies-Study Design, Data Analysis, and Implications for Dosing and Labeling.

Obscurin modulates the assembly and organization of sarcomeres and the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Obscurin (approximately 800 kDa) in striated muscle closely surrounds sarcomeres at the level of the M-band and Z-disk where, we hypothesize, it participates in the assembly of the contractile apparatus and membrane systems required for Ca2+ homeostasis. In this study, we used small inhibitory RNA (siRNA) technology to reduce the levels of obscurin in primary cultures of skeletal myotubes to study its role in myofibrillogenesis and the organization of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). siRNA-treated myotubes showed a specific and dramatic reduction in the approximately 800 kDa form of obscurin by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence. M-bands and A-bands, but not Z-disks or I-bands, were disrupted when the synthesis of obscurin was inhibited. Small ankyrin 1, an integral protein of the network SR that binds to obscurin, also failed to align around developing sarcomeres in treated myotubes. Myosin and myomesin levels were significantly reduced in treated myotubes but alpha-actinin was not, suggesting that down-regulation of obscurin destabilizes proteins of the M-band and A-band but not of the Z-disk. Our findings suggest that obscurin is required for the assembly of the M-band and A-band and for the regular alignment of the network SR around the contractile apparatus.

Mechanical Properties and Tableting Behavior of Amorphous Solid Dispersions.

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) consisting of acetaminophen (APAP) and copovidone were systematically studied to identify effects of drug loading and moisture content on mechanical properties, thermal properties, and tableting behavior. ASDs containing APAP at different levels were prepared by film casting and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and nanoindentation. The glass transition temperature (Tg) continuously decreased with increasing amount of APAP, but the hardness of ASDs was increased at a low APAP content and reduced at high APAP content. This in turn significantly influenced tablet quality. Water reduced both the hardness and Tg of ASDs, and the APAP loading level corresponding to the transition to the softening mechanism was lower at a higher relative humidity. Overall, the mechanical properties, rather than the thermal properties, better represent the plasticization/antiplasticization effect of small molecule to ASDs.

Rapid determination of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide and permethrin in human plasma by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and pyridostigmine bromide by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A rapid and highly sensitive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for simultaneous determination of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) and permethrin with (2)H(10)-phenanthrene (98 atom %) as an internal standard and a separate external standard high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for pyridostigmine bromide (PB) determination in human plasma were developed and validated. The GC-MS method for DEET and permethrin quantification utilizes a one-step extraction with tert-butylmethylether. The HPLC method for PB quantification involves a solid-phase extraction and UV detection. The range of the analytical method for DEET and permethrin was 1 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL and for PB was 5 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL. Recovery from plasma proved to be more than 80%. The intraday precision ranged from 1.3% to 8% for DEET, from 2.1% to 11.4% for permethrin, and from 3.0% to 4.8% for PB. The interday precision was 3% for DEET, ranged from 5% to 9% for permethrin, and from 5% to 9% for PB. The accuracy for the limit of quantification was 92% +/- 8% relative standard deviation (RSD) for DEET, 112% +/- 11% RSD for permethrin, and 109% +/- 5% RSD for PB. All 3 compounds were stable in human plasma at -80 degrees C for at least 12 months and after 2 freeze-thaw cycles with RSD values ranging from 7.1% (DEET, 80 ng/mL) to 8.1% (DEET, 8 ng/mL), from 2.3% (permethrin, 80 ng/mL) to 11.6 % (permethrin, 8 ng/mL), and from 0.2% (PB, 80 ng/mL) to 3.6% (PB, 8 ng/mL). Both methods were successfully applied to pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic studies of combined exposure of DEET (skin application), permethrin (treated uniforms), and PB (30 mg orally three times/day for four doses) in healthy volunteers (n = 81).

On the relationship of inter-particle cohesiveness and bulk powder behavior: Flowability of pharmaceutical powders.

This study investigates the relationship between particle interactions dominated by the cohesive van der Waals force and powder flowability for materials commonly used by the pharmaceutical industry in oral solid dosage formulation. This study first sought to correlate the granular Bond number, defined as the ratio of the inter-particle cohesion force to particle weight, to the flow function coefficient, a metric commonly used to assess powder flowability. However, the granular Bond number which strictly quantifies inter-particle cohesiveness was found to correlate poorly with powder flowability due to the complexity associated with particle assemblies. To account for the multitude of interactions between particles of different sizes within a powder and to more precisely predict bulk powder behavior, a population-dependent granular Bond number was proposed. The population-dependent granular Bond number which explicitly accounts for particle size distribution and described herein as a quantification of powder cohesiveness (instead of inter-particle cohesiveness) was shown to correlate well with the flow function coefficient for a wide variety of materials including four active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and fourteen common pharmaceutical excipients. Due to the success of the population-dependent granular Bond number, it was extended to predict the flowability of powder blends. This so-called population-dependent multi-component granular Bond number takes into account relevant material properties and particle interactions and was used to predict the flowability of 6-component powder blends containing acetaminophen as a model cohesive active pharmaceutical ingredient. Prediction of bulk powder behavior from individual material properties as accomplished here may be highly useful in formulation development.

The safety and efficacy of intrathecal diamorphine.

One hundred and seventy-eight patients undergoing total hip replacement and 67 patients undergoing spinal surgery were given diamorphine intrathecally in varying doses. Doses in mg/kg were plotted against duration of analgesia and the absence of retention and emetic symptoms in each type of surgery. Analysis showed that these were not dose dependent within the therapeutic range of 0.005-0.015 mg/kg.

Production of intracellular 35S-glutathione by rat and human hepatocytes for the quantification of xenobiotic reactive intermediates.

The quantification and identification of xenobiotic reactive intermediates is difficult in the absence of highly radiolabeled drug. We have developed a method for identifying these intermediates by measuring the formation of adducts to intracellularly generated radiolabeled glutathione (GSH). Freshly isolated adherent rat and human hepatocytes were incubated overnight in methionine and cystine-free ('thio-free') medium. They were then exposed to 100 microM methionine and 10 microCi 35S-labeled methionine in otherwise thio-free medium to replete cellular GSH pools with intracellularly generated 35S-labeled GSH. After 3 h, acetaminophen was added as a test compound and the cells were incubated for an additional 24 h. Intracellular GSH and its specific activity were quantified after reaction with monobromobimane followed by HPLC analysis with fluorescence and radiochemical detection. Radiolabeled GSH was detectable at 3 h and maintained high specific activity and physiological concentrations for up to 24 h. Incubation medium from acetaminophen treated and nontreated hepatocytes were analyzed for radiolabeled peaks by HPLC using radiochemical detection. Radiolabeled peaks not present in nontreated hepatocytes were identified as acetaminophen GSH adducts by LC-MS. Formation of acetaminophen 35S-GSH adducts by rat hepatocytes containing endogenously synthesized 35S-GSH was increased with acetaminophen concentrations ranging from 500 to 2 mM.

Reactivity of atropaldehyde, a felbamate metabolite in human liver tissue in vitro.

Antiepileptic therapy with a broad spectrum drug felbamate (FBM) has been limited due to reports of hepatotoxicity and aplastic anemia associated with its use. It was proposed that a bioactivation of FBM leading to formation of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde, atropaldehyde (ATPAL) could be responsible for toxicities associated with the parent drug. Other members of this class of compounds, acrolein and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), are known for their reactivity and toxicity. It has been proposed that the bioactivation of FBM to ATPAL proceeds though a more stable cyclized product, 4-hydroxy-5-phenyltetrahydro-1,3-oxazin-2-one (CCMF) whose formation has been shown recently. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and glutathione transferase (GST) are detoxifying enzymes and targets for reactive aldehydes. This study examined effects of ATPAL and its precursor, CCMF on ALDH, GST and cell viability in liver, the target tissue for its metabolism and toxicity. A known toxin, HNE, which is also a substrate for ALDH and GST, was used for comparison. Interspecies difference in metabolism of FBM is well documented, therefore, human tissue was deemed most relevant and used for these studies. ATPAL inhibited ALDH and GST activities and led to a loss of hepatocyte viability. Several fold greater concentrations of CCMF were necessary to demonstrate a similar degree of ALDH inhibition or cytotoxicity as observed with ATPAL. This is consistent with CCMF requiring prior conversion to the more proximate toxin, ATPAL. GSH was shown to protect against ALDH inhibition by ATPAL. In this context, ALDH and GST are detoxifying pathways and their inhibition would lead to an accumulation of reactive species from FBM metabolism and/or metabolism of other endogenous or exogenous compounds and predisposing to or causing toxicity. Therefore, mechanisms of reactive aldehydes toxicity could include direct interaction with critical cellular macromolecules or indirect interference with cellular detoxification mechanisms.

Phase I study of the synthetic triterpenoid, 2-cyano-3, 12-dioxoolean-1, 9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO), in advanced solid tumors.

BACKGROUND: The triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxoolean-1,9-dien-28-oic Acid (CDDO, previously RTA 401) is a multifunctional molecule that controls cellular growth and differentiation. While CDDO is capable of activating the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-γ (PPARγ), its apoptotic effects in malignant cells have been shown to occur independently of PPARγ. A phase I dose-escalation study was conducted to determine the toxicity, the maximum tolerated dose, and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CDDO, administered as a 5-day continuous infusion every 28 days in patients with advanced cancers. METHODS: An accelerated titration design was followed, with one patient per cohort entered, and doses ranging from 0.6 to 38.4 mg/m(2)/h. Pharmacokinetics of CDDO was assessed and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (c-PARP), as a marker of apoptosis, was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells to assess drug effect. RESULTS: Seven patients, one patient per dose level up to dose level 7 (38.4 mg/m(2)/h), were enrolled and received a total of 11 courses of treatment. Cmax increased proportionally with dose. Preclinically determined efficacious blood level (1 µM) of drug was attained at the highest dose level. One patient, at dose level 6, experienced grade 2 mucositis, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia. Four patients developed thromboembolic events subsequently considered as dose-limiting toxicity. No antitumor activity was noted. CONCLUSION: A causal relationship of observed thromboembolic events to CDDO was considered possible but could not be established.