Should the Use of Acid Reducing Agents in Conjunction with Ribociclib be Avoided? An Integrated QbD Approach for Assessment of pH-Mediated Interaction.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the possible pH-dependent interaction of ribociclib succinate with acid-reducing agents, which are concomitantly administered as supportive care medicines in cancer. Quality by Design-based analytical method development for a weakly basic drug ribociclib succinate supposedly having the characteristic ability of pH-dependent solubility was carried out for analyzing micro-dissolution experiment samples in biorelevant media to study pH-dependent interaction. An accurate and robust analytical method was developed using a three-level three-factorial box-behnken design for quantification of ribociclib succinate in micro-dissolution samples by the implementation of the Analytical Quality by Design approach. Here, pH of aqueous mobile phase and flow rate proved to be critical process parameters. The gastric compartment solubility was found to be 814.05 µg/mL, which dropped down to 494.71 µg/mL after a pH shift from pH 1.2-6.5. In the intestinal compartment, initial solubility was 717.58 µg/mL, which reduced to 463.20 µg/mL after a pH shift from 6.5 to 6.8. Concluded results state that pH shift does not impact the solubility or the absorption of the drug to a significant extent in the presence of acid-reducing agents. However, the study would prove to be a practical approach for examination of the behavior of the drugs at the initial stages.

Metamorphosis of Twin Screw Extruder-Based Granulation Technology: Applications Focusing on Its Impact on Conventional Granulation Technology.

In order to be at pace with the market requirements of solid dosage forms and regulatory standards, a transformation towards systematic processing using continuous manufacturing (CM) and automated model-based control is being thought through for its fundamental advantages over conventional batch manufacturing. CM eliminates the key gaps through the integration of various processes while preserving quality attributes via the use of process analytical technology (PAT). The twin screw extruder (TSE) is one such equipment adopted by the pharmaceutical industry as a substitute for the traditional batch granulation process. Various types of granulation techniques using twin screw extrusion technology have been explored in the article. Furthermore, individual components of a TSE and their conjugation with PAT tools and the advancements and applications in the field of nutraceuticals and nanotechnology have also been discussed. Thus, the future of granulation lies on the shoulders of continuous TSE, where it can be coupled with computational mathematical studies to mitigate its complications.

Curcumin nanocrystals attenuate cyclophosphamide-induced testicular toxicity in mice.

The cancer therapy using cyclophosphamide (CP) has been associated with adverse effects on the testicular function that raises concerns about the future fertility potential among cancer survivors. Curcumin, a polyphenol, has shown to possess a plethora of biological functions including tissue protective effects. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of curcumin nanocrystals (NC) in mitigation of CP-induced testicular toxicity. Healthy adult (8-10 week) and prepubertal (2 week) male Swiss albino mice were injected with a single dose of CP (200 mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p). NC (4 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered every alternate day, for 35 days in adult mice while, a single dose of NC was injected intraperitoneally to prepubertal mice 1 h prior to CP. Administration of multiple doses of NC ameliorated CP-induced testicular toxicity in adult mice, which was evident from the improved sperm functional competence, sperm chromatin condensation, seminiferous tubule architecture and decreased apoptosis in testicular cells. Further, administration of NC 1 h prior to CP in prepubertal mice modulated the expression of genes pertaining to proliferation, pluripotency, DNA damage and DNA repair in spermatogonial cells at 24 h after the treatment. Overall, these results suggest that NC could be a promising chemoprotective agent, which can have potential application in male fertility preservation.

Hot liquid extrusion assisted drug-cyclodextrin complexation: a novel continuous manufacturing method for solubility and bioavailability enhancement of drugs.

In this study, drug-cyclodextrin (CD) complexes were prepared using hot liquid extrusion (HLE) process with an aim to improve solubility and bioavailability of carbamazepine. Saturation solubility studies of CBZ in water and different pH media showed a pH-independent solubility. Phase solubility studies of CBZ at different molar concentrations of beta-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) and hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) indicated AL-type solubility profile with stability constants of 574 M-1 and 899 M-1 for ß-CD and HP-ß-CD. Drug-ß-CD and drug-HP-ß-CD complexes were prepared using HLE process and conventional methods (such as physical mixture, kneading method, and solvent evaporation) as well. Optimized complexes prepared using HLE viz. CBP-4 and CHP-2 showed a solubility of 4.27 ± 0.09 mg/mL and 6.39 ± 0.09 mg/mL as compared to plain CBZ (0.140 ± 0.007 mg/mL). Formation of drug-CD inclusion complexes was confirmed using DSC, FTIR, and XRD studies. Drug release studies indicated highest release of CBZ from CHP-2 (98.69 ± 2.96%) compared to CBP-4 (82.64 ± 2.45%) and plain drug (13.47 ± 0.54%). Complexes prepared using kneading showed significantly lesser drug release (KMB 75.52 ± 2.68% and KMH 85.59 ± 2.80%) as that of CHP-2 and CBP-4. Pre-clinical pharmacokinetic studies in Wistar rats indicated a significant increase in Cmax, Tmax, AUC, and mean residence time for CHP-2 compared to KMH and plain CBZ. All these results suggest that HLE is an effective method to increase the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs. Graphical Abstract.