Saliva versus plasma pharmacokinetics: theory and application of a salivary excretion classification system.

The aims of this work were to study pharmacokinetics of randomly selected drugs in plasma and saliva samples in healthy human volunteers, and to introduce a Salivary Excretion Classification System. Saliva and plasma samples were collected for 3-5 half-life values of sitagliptin, cinacalcet, metformin, montelukast, tolterodine, hydrochlorothiazide (HCT), lornoxicam, azithromycin, diacerhein, rosuvastatin, cloxacillin, losartan and tamsulosin after oral dosing. Saliva and plasma pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental analysis using the Kinetica program. Effective intestinal permeability (Peff) values were estimated by the Nelder-Mead algorithm of the Parameter Estimation module using the SimCYP program. Peff values were optimized to predict the actual average plasma profile of each drug. All other physicochemical factors were kept constant during the minimization processes. Sitagliptin, cinacalcet, metformin, tolterodine, HCT, azithromycin, rosuvastatin and cloxacillin had salivary excretion with correlation coefficients of 0.59-0.99 between saliva and plasma concentrations. On the other hand, montelukast, lornoxicam, diacerhein, losartan and tamsulosin showed no salivary excretion. Estimated Peff ranged 0.16-44.16 × 10(-4) cm/s, while reported fraction unbound to plasma proteins (fu) ranged 0.01-0.99 for the drugs under investigation. Saliva/plasma concentrations ratios ranged 0.11-13.4, in agreement with drug protein binding and permeability. A Salivary Excretion Classification System (SECS) was suggested based on drug high (H)/low (L) permeability and high (H)/low (L) fraction unbound to plasma proteins, which classifies drugs into 4 classes. Drugs that fall into class I (H/H), II (L/H) or III (H/L) are subjected to salivary excretion, while those falling into class IV (L/L) are not. Additional data from literature was also analyzed, and all results were in agreement with the suggested SECS. Moreover, a polynomial relationship with correlation coefficient of 0.99 is obtained between S* and C*, where S* and C* are saliva and concentration dimensionless numbers respectively. The proposed Salivary Excretion Classification System (SECS) can be used as a guide for drug salivary excretion. Future work is planned to test these initial findings, and demonstrate SECS robustness across a range of carefully selected (based on physicochemical properties) drugs that fall into classes I, II or III.

Surface molecularly imprinted polymer on magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes for selective recognition and preconcentration of metformin in biological fluids prior to its sensitive chemiluminescence determination: Central composite design optimization.

Novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for metformin was synthesized on the surface of magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) as the support. Metformin was used as the template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linker and 2,2'-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator. The synthesized composite was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The surface molecularly imprinted composite was used for magnetic solid phase microextraction (MSPME) of metformin before its chemiluminescence (CL) determination and its capability was compared with non-imprinted polymer (NIP). The central composite design was used for optimization as well as consideration of possible interaction of effective variables on extraction. Under the optimized conditions, the developed method exhibited the linear dynamic range of 0.5-50.0 µg L-1 with a detection limit of 0.13 µg L-1 and enhancement factor of 195.3 for the preconcentration of 100 mL of the sample and 500 µL of an eluent. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSD%) at 5.0 µg L-1 level of metformin (n = 6) were 3.7 and 4.9%, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of the sorbent was found to be 80.0 mg g-1, the adsorption of metformin was endothermic and spontaneous and followed the Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption kinetic was also found to be best fitted with the pseudo-second-order model. The designed method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of metformin in biological fluids and water samples.

Synthesis and Characterization of pH-Sensitive Genipin Cross-Linked Chitosan/Eudragit® L100 Hydrogel for Metformin Release Study Using Response Surface Methodology.

BACKGROUND: In this study, central composite design was utilized for the optimization of genipin cross-linked chitosan/Eudragit®-L 100 interpenetrating hydrogel network films fabricated through solvent evaporation technique. METHODS: Hydrogel formulations were studied using response surface methodology; regression analysis and the surface plots were used to evaluate the effect of variables on T50% (the time for 50% of drug release) and dynamic swelling with optimum formulation selection. Initial burst release of drug was observed from the formulated hydrogels during the first 2 hours of dissolution at simulated gastric pH 1.2 and then slow release during the next 10 hours in the simulated intestinal fluid at pH 7.4. Different polymer ratios in formulation showed significant influence on T50% and dynamic swelling of hydrogel. The highest T50% was observed at 9.89 hour and dynamic swelling at 7.86 h. RESULT: It was observed that by changing the polymer ratio with cross-linker, release rate of metformin could be modified. Cross-linker also affects drug release rate, i.e. the release rate is decreased with the increase in its concentration. The physical state of hydrogel was investigated by scanning electron microscope. CONCLUSION: It indicated the uniform distribution of drug in hydrogel matrix system. Moreover, the presence of hydrogen and ionic bonds between polymers and crosslinking agent formed interpenetrating hydrogel network, likely responsible for increased value of T50%, as confirmed by FTIR. Acute oral toxicity study was performed to investigate the toxic effect of crosslinking agent and polymer used in formulations.

Hydrogel-forming microneedles enhance transdermal delivery of metformin hydrochloride.

We investigated, for the first time, the potential for a hydrogel-forming microneedle (MN) patch to deliver the high-dose drug metformin HCl transdermally in a sustained manner. This may minimize some gastrointestinal side effects and small intestine absorption variations associated with oral delivery. Patches (two layers) were assembled from a lyophilised drug reservoir layer, with the MN layer made from aqueous blend of 20% w/w poly (methylvinylether-co-maleic acid) crosslinked by esterification with 7.5% w/w poly (ethylene glycol) 10,000 Da. >90% of metformin was recovered from homogeneous drug reservoirs. Drug reservoir dissolution time in PBS (pH 7.4) was <10 min. MN penetrated a validated skin model Parafilm® M consistently. Permeation of metformin HCl across dermatomed neonatal porcine skin in vitro was enhanced by using MN. The combined MN and metformin HCl reservoir patch (containing 75 mg or 50 mg metformin HCl, respectively) delivered 9.71 ±â€¯2.22 mg and 10.04 ±â€¯1.92 mg at 6 h, respectively, and 28.15 ±â€¯2.37 mg and 23.25 ±â€¯3.58 mg at 24 h, respectively.In comparison, 0.34 ±â€¯0.39 mg and 0.85 ±â€¯0.68 mg was delivered at 6 h, respectively, and 0.39 ±â€¯0.39 mg and 1.01 ±â€¯0.84 mg was delivered at 24 h, respectively, from a control set-up employing only the drug reservoirs. In vivo, metformin HCl was detected in rat plasma at 1 h post MN application at a concentration of 0.62 ±â€¯0.51 µg/mL, increasing to 3.76 ±â€¯2.58 µg/ml at 3 h. A maximal concentration of 3.77 ±â€¯2.09 µg/ml was achieved at 24 h. Css was 3.2 µg/mL. Metformin transdermal bioavailability using MNs was estimated as 30%.Hydrogel-forming MN are a promising technology that has demonstrated successful transdermal delivery of metformin HCl. Potential clearly exists for administration of other high-dose drugs using this system.

The use of partially hydrolysed polyvinyl alcohol for the production of high drug-loaded sustained release pellets via extrusion-spheronisation and coating: In vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Partially hydrolysed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was evaluated as a pelletisation aid for the production of pellets with a high acetaminophen and metformin hydrochloride concentration (>70%, w/w). Mixtures with varying drug concentration and PVA/microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) ratios were processed via extrusion-spheronisation, either after addition of PVA as a dry powder or as an aqueous solution. Finally, high drug- loaded metformin pellets were coated with a methacrylic acid copolymer (Eudragit™ NM 30D) and evaluated for their sustained release potency in vitro and in vivo. The plasticity index of the wet mass increased by the addition of PVA to the formulation, which resulted in enhanced extrusion-spheronisation properties, even at a high drug load. Although the MCC concentration was successfully lowered by adding PVA, the inclusion of MCC in the formulation was essential to overcome problems related to the tackiness effect of PVA during extrusion. Overall, wet addition of PVA was superior to dry addition, as pellets with a higher mechanical strength and narrower particle size distribution were obtained. Pellets containing 87% (w/w) metformin hydrochloride were successfully layered with 20% (w/w) coating material, yielding sustained release pellets with a final drug load of 70% (w/w). In addition, the sustained release characteristics of the PVA-based pellets with a high drug content were confirmed in vivo as no difference with the Glucophage™ SR reference formulation was observed.

Excipient-mediated alteration in drug bioavailability in the rat depends on the sex of the animal.

The pharmaceutical excipient, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), unexpectedly alters the bioavailability of the BCS class III drug ranitidine in a sex-dependent manner. As ranitidine is a substrate for the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), we hypothesized that the sex-related influence could be due to interactions between PEG 400 and P-gp. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by: i) measuring the influence of PEG 400 on the oral bioavailability of another P-gp substrate (ampicillin) and of a non-P-gp substrate (metformin); and ii) measuring the effect of PEG 400 on drug bioavailability in the presence of a P-gp inhibitor (cyclosporine A) in male and female rats. We found that PEG 400 significantly increased (p<0.05) the bioavailability of ampicillin (the P-gp substrate) in male rats, but not in female ones. In contrast, PEG 400 had no influence on the bioavailability of the non-P-gp substrate, metformin in male or female rats. Inhibition of P-gp by oral pre-treatment with cyclosporine A increased the bioavailability of the P-gp substrates (ampicillin and ranitidine) in males and females (p<0.05), and to a greater extent in males, but had no influence on the bioavailability of metformin in either male or female rats. These results prove the hypothesis that the sex-specific effect of PEG 400 on the bioavailability of certain drugs is due to the interaction of PEG 400 with the efflux transporter P-gp.

Preparation and in vitro/in vivo evaluation of sustained-release metformin hydrochloride pellets.

In this study, metformin hydrochloride (MH) sustained-release pellets were successfully prepared by centrifugal granulation. Seed cores preparation, drug layering, talc modification and coating of polymeric suspensions were carried out in a centrifugal granulator. Talc modification was performed before coating in order to overcome the high water solubility of metformin. The influence of surface modification by talc, the effects of Eudragit types and ratios, as well as the correlation between in vitro release and in vivo absorption were investigated in detail. Experimental results indicated that talc modification made a decisive contribution to controlling the drug release by avoiding drug dumping. Three dissolution media: 0.1 M HCl, distilled water and pH 6.8 phosphate buffer were employed to determine the in vitro release behaviors of the above metformin hydrochloride pellets. The relative bioavailability of the sustained-release pellets was studied in 12 healthy volunteers after oral administration in a fast state using a commercially available immediate release tablet (Glucophage) as a reference. Following coating with a blend of Eudragit L30D-55 and Eudragit NE30D (1:20), at 7% or 10% coating level, respectively (referred to as F-2, F-3), the pellets acquired perfect sustained-release properties and good relative bioavailability. The Cmax, Tmax and relative bioavailability for F-2 and F-3 coated pellets were 1.21 microg/ml, 6 h, 97.6% and 1.65 microg/ml, 8 h, 165%, respectively. Combined use of two Eudragit polymers with different features as coating materials produced the desired results. Restricted delivery of metformin hydrochloride to the small intestine from differently coated pellets resulted in increased relative bioavailability and a sustained release effect. The adoption of several different pH dissolution media established a better relationship between the in vitro release and in vivo absorption of the sustained-release pellets.

A comparative study between melt granulation/compression and hot melt extrusion/injection molding for the manufacturing of oral sustained release thermoplastic polyurethane matrices.

During this project 3 techniques (twin screw melt granulation/compression (TSMG), hot melt extrusion (HME) and injection molding (IM)) were evaluated for the manufacturing of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)-based oral sustained release matrices, containing a high dose of the highly soluble metformin hydrochloride. Whereas formulations with a drug load between 0 and 70% (w/w) could be processed via HME/(IM), the drug content of granules prepared via melt granulation could only be varied between 85 and 90% (w/w) as these formulations contained the proper concentration of binder (i.e. TPU) to obtain a good size distribution of the granules. While release from HME matrices and IM tablets could be sustained over 24h, release from the TPU-based TSMG tablets was too fast (complete release within about 6h) linked to their higher drug load and porosity. By mixing hydrophilic and hydrophobic TPUs the in vitro release kinetics of both formulations could be adjusted: a higher content of hydrophobic TPU was correlated with a slower release rate. Although mini-matrices showed faster release kinetics than IM tablets, this observation was successfully countered by changing the hydrophobic/hydrophilic TPU ratio. In vivo experiments via oral administration to dogs confirmed the versatile potential of the TPU platform as intermediate-strong and low-intermediate sustained characteristics were obtained for the IM tablets and HME mini-matrices, respectively.

Pharmacodynamic-pharmacokinetic profiles of metformin hydrochloride from a mucoadhesive formulation of a polysaccharide with antidiabetic property in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat models.

The antidiabetic property of a formulation containing metformin hydrochloride and detarium gum has been evaluated in streptozotocin model of experimental rats. Both the gum and metformin hydrochloride possess antidiabetic properties to varying degrees. The pharmacokinetics of metformin from the mucoadhesive dosage forms indicated that for metformin alone, the area under the curve (AUC) values were 125.6 and 135.6 mgh/ml at 200 and 400 mg/kg BW, respectively. For the mucoadhesive products using the same dose levels, the AUCs were modified to 102.4 and 150.2 in detarium gum and 59.9 and 80.4 in NaCMC. The results indicate that detarium gum is a good excipient for the formulation of metformin mucoadhesive delivery systems when compared with NaCMC. The gum also showed promising antidiabetic effect and should be cautiously used as it may lead to depressed blood-glucose levels beyond the desired levels.

Improving oral bioavailability of metformin hydrochloride using water-in-oil microemulsions and analysis of phase behavior after dilution.

Microemulsions show significant promise for enhancing the oral bioavailability of biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class II drugs, but how about class III drugs remains unclear. Here we employed metformin hydrochloride (MET) as the model drug and prepared drug-loaded water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions selecting different hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) surfactant systems, using HLB 8 as a cut-off. We examined the phase behaviors of microemulsions after dilution and attempted to correlate these behaviors to drug oral bioavailability. ME-A, including a lower content of surfactants (35%), underwent a transition of W/O emulsion and then became a stable O/W emulsion in a light milky appearance; ME-B, in contrast, introducing a higher content of surfactants (45%), still remained transparent or semitransparent upon dilution. Unexpectedly, ME-A showed significantly higher oral bioavailability, which can be reduced by blocking the lymphatic absorption pathway. Comparatively, the AUC of ME-B is lower, close to MET solution. Both microemulsions behaved similarly in intestinal perfusion test because of the dilution before perfusion, lacking of the important phase transition of W/O emulsion. These findings suggest that W/O microemulsions improve oral bioavailability of BCS class III drug by promoting lymphatic absorption. Analyzing the phase behavior of microemulsions after dilution may help predict the drug oral bioavailability and optimize formulations.

Decoupling the role of image size and calorie intake on gastric retention of swelling-based gastric retentive formulations: pre-screening in the dog model.

Gastric retention is postulated as an approach to improve bioavailability of compounds with narrow absorption windows. To elucidate the role of image size on gastric retention and pharmacokinetics, formulations with different image sizes and swelling kinetics but similar dissolution rates were designed and imaged in dogs. Diet had a clear effect, with increasing calorific intake prolonging retention in the dog model. In contrast to clinical observations, no obvious effect of image size on gastric retention was observed in the dog, with the larger gastric retentive (GR) and smaller controlled release (CR) formulations both demonstrating similar gastric emptying. Comparable pharmacokinetic profiles were observed for the two formulations, corroborating the imaging data and providing evidence of similar in vivo dissolution rates and dosage form integrity in the dog. Food, specifically meal composition, resulted in comparable enhancements in exposure in the dog and clinic due to prolonged gastric retention. However, differentiating retention based on image size in the dog was not feasible due to the smaller pyloric aperture compared to humans. This work illustrates that the dog is capable of determining the pharmacokinetic advantage of gastric retention relative to immediate release (IR) or CR formulations, however, has limited value in differentiating between CR and GR formulations.

Chemiluminescence determination of metformin based on hydroxyl radical reaction and molecularly imprinted polymer on-line enrichment.

A novel and simple chemiluminescence (CL) method has been developed and validated for determination of metformin. This method is based on hydroxyl radical chemiluminescence-the hydroxyl radical generated by reaction of Cu(II) and hydrogen peroxide oxidizes rhodamine B (RhB) to produce weak CL which can be enhanced by metformin. At the same time, metformin molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized. After enrichment based on the selectivity of metformin-MIP, the CL method was successfully applied to the determination of metformin in human serum. The linear range was from 1.0 x 10(-8) to 1.0 x 10(-6) g mL(-1) and the detection limit was 4 x 10(-9) g mL(-1). The relative standard deviation at 2.0 x 10(-7) g mL(-1) by use of MIP was 3.67% (n = 7).