Cyclodextrin-Enabled Enantioselective Complexation Study of Cathinone Analogs.

The characteristic alkaloid component of the leaves of the catnip shrub (Catha edulis) is cathinone, and its synthetic analogs form a major group of recreational drugs. Cathinone derivatives are chiral compounds. In the literature, several chiral methods using cyclodextrins (CDs) have been achieved so far for diverse sets of analogs; however, a comprehensive investigation of the stability of their CD complexes has not been performed yet. To characterize the enantioselective complex formation, a systematic experimental design was developed in which a total number of 40 neutral, positively, and negatively charged CD derivatives were screened by affinity capillary electrophoresis and compared according to their cavity size, substituent type, and location. The functional groups responsible for the favorable interactions were identified in the case of para-substituted cathinone analog mephedrone, flephedrone, and 4-methylethcathinone (4-MEC) and in the case of 3,4-methylendioxy derivative butylone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). The succinylated-ß-CD and subetadex exhibited the highest complex stabilities among the studied drugs. The complex stoichiometry was determined using the Job's plot method, and the complex structures were further studied using ROESY NMR measurements. The results of our enantioselective complex formation study can facilitate chiral method development and may lead to evaluate potential CD-based antidotes for cathinone analogs.

The Effect of the Particle Size Reduction on the Biorelevant Solubility and Dissolution of Poorly Soluble Drugs with Different Acid-Base Character.

Particle size reduction is a commonly used process to improve the solubility and the dissolution of drug formulations. The solubility of a drug in the gastrointestinal tract is a crucial parameter, because it can greatly influence the bioavailability. This work provides a comprehensive investigation of the effect of the particle size, pH, biorelevant media and polymers (PVA and PVPK-25) on the solubility and dissolution of drug formulations using three model compounds with different acid-base characteristics (papaverine hydrochloride, furosemide and niflumic acid). It was demonstrated that micronization does not change the equilibrium solubility of a drug, but it results in a faster dissolution. In contrast, nanonization can improve the equilibrium solubility of a drug, but the selection of the appropriate excipient used for nanonization is essential, because out of the two used polymers, only the PVPK-25 had an increasing effect on the solubility. This phenomenon can be explained by the molecular structure of the excipients. Based on laser diffraction measurements, PVPK-25 could also inhibit the aggregation of the particles more effectively than PVA, but none of the polymers could hold the nanonized samples in the submicron range until the end of the measurements.

Understanding the pH Dependence of Supersaturation State-A Case Study of Telmisartan.

Creating supersaturating drug delivery systems to overcome the poor aqueous solubility of active ingredients became a frequent choice for formulation scientists. Supersaturation as a solution phenomenon is, however, still challenging to understand, and therefore many recent publications focus on this topic. This work aimed to investigate and better understand the pH dependence of supersaturation of telmisartan (TEL) at a molecular level and find a connection between the physicochemical properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the ability to form supersaturated solutions of the API. Therefore, the main focus of the work was the pH-dependent thermodynamic and kinetic solubility of the model API, TEL. Based on kinetic solubility results, TEL was observed to form a supersaturated solution only in the pH range 3-8. The experimental thermodynamic solubility-pH profile shows a slight deviation from the theoretical Henderson-Hasselbalch curve, which indicates the presence of zwitterionic aggregates in the solution. Based on pKa values and the refined solubility constants and distribution of macrospecies, the pH range where high supersaturation-capacity is observed is the same where the zwitterionic form of TEL is present. The existence of zwitterionic aggregation was confirmed experimentally in the pH range of 3 to 8 by mass spectrometry.

Flux-Based Formulation Development-A Proof of Concept Study.

The work aimed to develop the Absorption Driven Drug Formulation (ADDF) concept, which is a new approach in formulation development to ensure that the drug product meets the expected absorption rate. The concept is built on the solubility-permeability interplay and the rate of supersaturation as the driving force of absorption. This paper presents the first case study using the ADDF concept where not only dissolution and solubility but also permeation of the drug is considered in every step of the formulation development. For that reason, parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) was used for excipient selection, small volume dissolution-permeation apparatus was used for testing amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), and large volume dissolution-permeation tests were carried out to characterize the final dosage forms. The API-excipient interaction studies on PAMPA indicated differences when different fillers or surfactants were studied. These differences were then confirmed with small volume dissolution-permeation assays where the addition of Tween 80 to the ASDs decreased the flux dramatically. Also, the early indication of sorbitol's advantage over mannitol by PAMPA has been confirmed in the investigation of the final dosage forms by large-scale dissolution-permeation tests. This difference between the fillers was observed in vivo as well. The presented case study demonstrated that the ADDF concept opens a new perspective in generic formulation development using fast and cost-effective flux-based screening methods in order to meet the bioequivalence criteria. Graphical Abstract.

Inclusion complexation of the anticancer drug pomalidomide with cyclodextrins: fast dissolution and improved solubility.

Pomalidomide (POM), a potent anticancer thalidomide analogue was characterized in terms of cyclodextrin complexation to improve its aqueous solubility and maintain its anti-angiogenic activity. The most promising cyclodextrin derivatives were selected by phase-solubility studies. From the investigated nine cyclodextrins - differing in cavity size, nature of substituents, degree of substitution and charge - the highest solubility increase was observed with sulfobutylether-ß-cyclodextrin (SBE-ß-CD). The inclusion complexation between POM and SBE-ß-CD was further characterized with a wide variety of state-of-the-art analytical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy as well as X-ray powder diffraction method (XRD). Job plot titration by NMR and the AL-type phase-solubility diagram indicated 1:1 stoichiometry in a liquid state. Complementary analytical methods were employed for the determination of the stability constant of the complex; the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches are also discussed. Inclusion complex formation was also assessed by molecular modelling study. Solid state complexation in a 1:1 M ratio was carried out by lyophilization and investigated by IR and XRD. The complex exhibited fast-dissolution with immediate release of POM, when compared to the pure drug at acidic and neutral pH. Kinetic analysis of POM release from lyophilized complex shows that Korsmeyer-Peppas and Weibull model described the best the dissolution kinetics. The cytotoxicity of the complex was tested against the LP-1 human myeloma cell line which revealed that supramolecular interactions did not significantly affect the anti-cancer activity of the drug. Overall, our results suggest that the inclusion complexation of POM with SBE-ß-CD could be a promising approach for developing more effective POM formulations with increased solubility.

Revisit of solubility of oxytetracycline polymorphs. An old story in the light of new results.

In the literature the therapeutic nonequivalence of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) capsules and tablets was attributed to the different aqueous solubility of polymorphs without their comprehensive study. Our aim was to reveal the effects of polymorphism on equilibrium solubility, dissolution kinetics and the supersaturation of two OTCH polymorphs (stable Form A and metastable Form B).The equilibrium solubility was measured in biorelevant pH range 4-7.4 by the standardized saturation shake-flask method. We also studied the solubility in SGF at pH 1.2 and the effect of the pH change from 1.2 to 5.0 on solubility. The dissolution was studied using real-time concentration monitoring with an ATR probe attached to a UV spectrophotometer (µDISS Profiler). A wide spectrum of solid phase analysis methods (SEM, IR, XRPD, Raman) was applied for characterization of polymorphs and to identify which form is present at the equilibrium solubility. Identical equilibrium solubility values were obtained at the same pHs in region 4.0-7.4 using the two polymorphs as starting materials. The XRPD analysis of the isolated solid phases proved that both polymorphic forms were converted to dihydrate form. In situ monitoring of the dissolution at pH 5.0 showed immediate dissolution, no difference in supersaturation, and short equilibration time for both forms indicating the immediate conversion. In SGF (pH 1.2) Form B dissolved better than Form A and showed significantly different dissolution kinetic and stability. A long-lasting, false chain-citation stating that Form B dissolves 28x better in water than Form A, was cut by the present study (i) revealing that the cited data was measured in IPA not in water, and (ii) proving that only the intrinsic solubility of OTC dihydrate can be measured in water due to conversion of polymorphs under the experimental conditions of solubility measurement. However this conversion is inhibited below pH 1.5, so the differences in solubility and dissolution kinetic found at pH 1.2 may contribute to the interpretation of the different serum-levels reported at solid formulations.

Prediction of Bioequivalence and Food Effect Using Flux- and Solubility-Based Methods.

In this work, two different approaches have been developed to predict the food effect and the bioequivalence of marketed itraconazole (ITRA) formulations. Kinetic solubility and simultaneous dissolution-permeation tests of three (ITRA) formulations (Sporanox capsules and solution and SUBA-ITRA capsules) were carried out in simulated fasted and fed states. Fraction of dose absorbed ratios estimating food effect and bioequivalence were calculated based on these results and were compared to the in vivo study results published by Medicines Agencies. The comparison demonstrated that kinetic solubility and flux values could be used as input parameters for biopharmaceutics modeling and simulations to estimate food effect and bioequivalence. Both prediction methods were able to determine a slightly negative food effect in the case of the Sporanox solution and also a pronounced positive food effect for the Sporanox capsule. Superior bioavailability was predicted when the Sporanox solution was compared to the Sporanox capsule (in agreement with in vivo data).

Effect of Formulation Additives on Drug Transport through Size-Exclusion Membranes.

The aim of this research was to investigate the driving force of membrane transport through size-exclusion membranes and to provide a concentration-based mathematical description of it to evaluate whether it can be an alternative for lipophilic membranes in the formulation development of amorphous solid dispersions. Carvedilol, an antihypertensive drug, was chosen and formulated using solvent-based electrospinning to overcome the poor water solubility of the drug. Vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (PVPVA64) and Soluplus were used to create two different amorphous solid dispersions of the API. The load-dependent effect of the additives on dissolution and permeation through regenerated cellulose membrane was observed by a side-by-side diffusion cell, µFLUX. The solubilizing effect of the polymers was studied by carrying out thermodynamic solubility assays. The supersaturation ratio (SSR, defined as the ratio of dissolved amount of the drug to its thermodynamic solubility measured in exactly the same medium) was found to be the driving force of membrane transport in the case of size-exclusion membranes. Although the transport through lipophilic and size-exclusion membranes is mechanistically different, in both cases, the driving force of membrane transport in the presence of polymer additives was found to be the same. This finding may enable the use of size-exclusion membranes as an alternative to lipid membranes in formulation development of amorphous solid dispersions.

Synthesis and characterization of amino acid substituted sunitinib analogues for the treatment of AML.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common type of leukemia in adults. Sunitinib, a multikinase inhibitor, was the first Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor clinically used against AML. Off-target effects are a major concern for multikinase inhibitors. As targeted delivery may reduce such undesired side effects, our goal was to develop novel amino acid substituted derivatives of sunitinib which are potent candidates to be used conjugated with antibodies and peptides. In the current paper we present the synthesis, physicochemical and in vitro characterization of sixty two Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3-internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD) mutant kinase inhibitors, bearing amino acid moieties, fit to be conjugated with peptide-based delivery systems via their carboxyl group. We determined the solubility, pKa, CHI and LogP values of the compounds along with their inhibition potential against FLT3-ITD mutant kinase and on MV4-11 cell line. The ester derivatives of the compounds inhibit the growth of the MV4-11 leukemia cell line at submicromolar concentration.

Site- and species-specific hydrolysis rates of cocaine.

The hydroxide-catalyzed non-enzymatic hydrolysis of cocaine is quantified in terms of ten site- and species-specific rate constants in connection with also ten site- and species-specific acid-base equilibrium constants, comprising all the twelve coexisting species in solution. This characterization involves the major and minor decomposition pathways via benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester, respectively, leading to ecgonine, the final product. Hydrolysis has been found to be 10-330 times faster at site 2 than at site 3, depending on the ionization status of the amino moiety and the rest of the molecule. Nitrogen protonation accelerates the hydrolyses approximately ten times both at site 2 and site 3.

Equilibrium solubility measurement of compounds with low dissolution rate by Higuchi's Facilitated Dissolution Method. A validation study.

Incubation time plays a critical role in the accurate measurement of equilibrium solubility of compounds. Substances which dissolve very slowly generally need long incubation times (days or weeks) to reach equilibrium. However, long times may pose several problems, such as decomposition of solute, molding of buffer, and drifting of pH. Higuchi in 1979 proposed the Facilitated Dissolution Method (FDM) to dramatically reduce incubation time. It employs a small volume of water-immiscible organic solvent to partly solubilize the sample and thereby increase the surface area available for dissolution. The method has been used only rarely. In this study we performed a systematic validation of FDM using progesterone as model compound. The reference solubility value, 7.95±0.21µg/mL (p<0.05, n=5), was determined in Britton-Robinson buffer solution (pH7.4) at 25.0°C by the standardized protocol of Saturation Shake-Flask (SSF) method. Also, the solubility was measured by the FDM approach under varied experimental conditions (e.g., type and volume of organic solvent, time of agitation, and amount of solid excess), and compared to the reference value. It was demonstrated that the small amount of organic solvent used in the FDM does not impact the measured solubility, compared to the reference value. Additionally, four compounds of low dissolution rate (dexamethasone, digoxin, haloperidol and cosalane) were used to demonstrate that FDM can reduce the long equilibration time to the standardized 24h (6h stirring and 18h sedimentation). The time dependence of solubility equilibrium was measured by SSF, and the results were compared with those obtained by FDM. Our study, based on >200 solubility experiments, supports the validity of Higuchi's method. In this study we propose a standardized protocol for the FDM, where 1% v/v of organic solvent is used. Octane (or isooctane) was found to be suitable for highly hydrophobic compounds. Alternatively, octanol or 1,2-dichloroethane can be used for less lipophilic compounds.

Effect of solubility enhancement on nasal absorption of meloxicam.

Besides the opioids the standard management of the World Health Organization suggests NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) alone or in combination to enhance analgesia in malignant and non-malignant pain therapy. The applicability of NSAIDs in a nasal formulation is a new approach in pharmaceutical technology. In order to enhance the nasal absorption of meloxicam (MX) as an NSAID, its salt form, meloxicam potassium monohydrate (MXP), registered by Egis Plc., was investigated in comparison with MX. The physico-chemical properties of the drugs (structural analysis, solubility and dissolution rate) and the mucoadhesivity of nasal formulations were controlled. In vitro and in vivo studies were carried out to determine the nasal applicability of MXP as a drug candidate in pain therapy. It can be concluded that MX and MXP demonstrated the same equilibrium solubility at the pH5.60 of the nasal mucosa (0.017mg/ml); nonetheless, MXP indicated faster dissolution and a higher permeability through the synthetic membrane. The animal studies justified the short Tmax value (15min) and the high AUC of MXP, which is important in acute pain therapy. It can be assumed that the low mucoadhesivity of MXP spray did not increase the residence time in the nasal cavity, and the elimination from the nasal mucosa was therefore faster than in the case of MX. Further experiments are necessary to prove the therapeutic relevance of this MXP-containing innovative intranasal formulation.

Chiral separation of asenapine enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis and characterization of cyclodextrin complexes by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and molecular modeling.

The enantiomers of asenapine maleate (ASN), a novel antipsychotic against schizophrenia and mania with bipolar I disorder have been separated by cyclodextrin (CD) modified capillary zone electrophoresis for the first time. 15 different CDs were screened as complexing agents and chiral selectors, investigating the stability of the inclusion complexes and their enantiodiscriminating capacities. Although initially, none of the applied chiral selectors gave baseline separation, ß-CD proved to be the most effective chiral selector. In order to improve resolution, an orthogonal experimental design was employed, altering the concentration of background electrolyte, organic modifier, pH, capillary temperature and applied voltage in a multivariate manner. The developed method (160 mM TRIS-acetate buffer pH 3.5, 7 mM ß-CD, at 20 °C, applying 15 kV) was successful for baseline separation of ASN enantiomers (R(s)=2.40±0.04). Our method was validated according to ICH guidelines and proved to be sensitive, linear, accurate and precise for the chiral separation of ASN. Properties of the inclusion complexes, such as stoichiometry, atomic level intermolecular host-guest connections are proposed on the basis of ROESY NMR measurement, ESI-MS spectrometry and molecular modeling studies. It was found that the ASN-ß-CD complex is of 1:1 composition, and either of the aromatic rings can be accommodated in the ß-CD cavity.

Separation and determination of quinolone antibacterials by capillary electrophoresis.

The migration behavior and separation of 13 quinolone antibacterials were investigated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). In order to predict the electrophoretic mobility, the protonation macroconstants of all the compounds were determined by pH-potentiometric titrations. We proved that the electrophoretic mobility of ionized quinolones (QNs) can be described with Offord's equation, and the migration order depends on their charge-to-mass ratios. A buffer of 25 mM sodium tetraborate adjusted to pH 9.3 was an efficient electrophoresis system for the separation of 12 QNs by capillary zone electrophoresis. This method can be considered a general method to separate quinolone derivatives. Ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin, fluoroquinoles with very similar structural characteristics, were separated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Validation parameters, including linearity and detection and quantification limits, were also determined. Our results prove the applicability of CE for the simultaneous determination of QNs from complex mixtures. Our methods are environment-friendly replacement and improvement of a common high-performance liquid chromatography determination with rapid analysis time without using any organic solvents.

Tapentadol enantiomers: Synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and cyclodextrin interactions.

The complete physico-chemical characterization of the single enantiomer analgesic drug R,R-tapentadol was quantitated in terms of protonation macro- and microconstants and octanol-water partition coefficient using pH-potentiometry, UV-pH and (1)H NMR-pH titrations. The protonation macroconstants were found to be logK1=10.59±0.01 and logK2=9.44±0.01, while the individual basicity of each protonation site was found to be logk(O)=9.94 and logk(N)=10.48 for the phenolate and tertiary amine functions, respectively. As a consequence, the zwitterionic form of tapentadol predominates in aqueous solutions. The potential optical impurity (S,S-tapentadol) was synthesized for the first time in a seven-step chiral synthetic procedure. The enantiomers of tapentadol were separated by cyclodextrin modified capillary zone electrophoresis. Over 15 cyclodextrins were investigated in terms of apparent complex stability and screened as chiral selectors, and the sulfated alpha-cyclodextrin was found to resolve the enantiomers with excellent resolution (Rs=16.2 and 9.1) at pH 4.75 and pH 9.0, respectively. The system containing 12mM selector in a 50mM TRIS-acetate buffer was amenable to detect S,S-tapentadol potential optical impurity at 0.1% concentration level.

Biorelevant solubility of poorly soluble drugs: rivaroxaban, furosemide, papaverine and niflumic acid.

In this work the biorelevant solubility of four drugs representing different acid-base property, wide range of lipohilicity and low aqueous solubility was studied. The equilibrium solubility of rivaroxaban (non-ionizable), furosemide (acid), papaverine (base) and niflumic acid (ampholyte) was determined in simulated gastric fluid (SGF pH 1.2), in simulated intestinal fluid fasted state (FaSSIF pH 6.5) and fed state (FeSSIF pH 5.0) and their corresponding blank buffers at a temperature of 37 °C using saturation shake-flask method. The concentration was measured by optimized HPLC analysis. The solubilizing effect of bile acid/lipid micelles as additive components of biorelevent media (BRM) is expressed with the solubility ratio (SR: SBRM/Sblank buffer) and the food effect was estimated from SFeSSIF/SFaSSIF coefficient. It was revealed that ionization plays primarily role in solubility of compounds which undergo ionization in BRM. The solubilizing effect in FaSSIF was marginal for the neutral compound (rivaroxaban) and for molecules are anionic at pH 6.5 (furosemide and niflumic acid). The higher concentration of solubilizing agents in FeSSIF improved the solubility of papaverine carrying positive charge and niflumic acid being partially zwitterionic at pH 5.0.

[Good laboratory practice of equilibrium solubility measurement III. Dissolution measurements]. / Az egyensúlyi oldhatóság meghatározásának helyes gyakorlata III. A hatóanyag-kioldódás vizsgálómódszerei.

In this paper the theoretical background of dissolution determining the oral administration, the physicochemical and physiological factors influencing the rate of dissolution, the relation between solubility and dissolution, the most important pharmacopoeial and miniaturized dissolution measurements and finally the dissolution in biorelevant media are reviewed.

Predicting the exposure and antibacterial activity of fluoroquinolones based on physicochemical properties.

The purposes of this study are to evaluate if the PAMPA (Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay) permeability and the true partition coefficient could be useful for predicting AUC and MIC data of a group of antibacterial fluoroquinolones (FQs). The protonation macro- and microconstants, the n-octanol/water partition coefficients at isoelectric pHs, and the PAMPA permeability of 11 selected FQs were determined, and used to calculate the true partition coefficient, the interactivity parameter between the acidic and basic group, and the apparent intrinsic permeability. It has been shown that the apparent intrinsic permeability correlates well with the AUC in human, whereas the true partition coefficient and the interactivity parameter correlate with 1/MIC values on two Gram-positive bacteria, namely Streptococcus pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible). The AUC/MIC ratios predicted from these correlations have shown to be in good agreement with the literature values. It is envisaged that the models described in this study could be useful in the development of new FQs by enabling an early prediction of AUC/MIC ratios based on physicochemical properties.

[Good laboratory practice of equilibrium solubility measurement II. Study of pH-dependent solubility of ionizable compounds]. / Az egysúlyi oldhatóság meghatározásának helyes gyakorlata II. Ionizálható vegyületek pH-függo oldhatóságának vizsgálata.

In this paper the pH-equilibrium solubility profiles of ionizable drugs are presented. The aim of the present work was to study the validity of the Henderson-Hasselbalch (HH) relationship in the case of structurally diverse weak bases. In the case of monoprotic bases, namely papaverine, promethazine and propafenone the experimental equilibrium solubility data precisely follow the theoretical HH curve until the limit of salt solubility. The common ion effect on salt solubility was found to be significant at low pHs. Deviation from the HH equation in the case of dibasic quetiapine hydrogen fumarate can be easily interpreted with the formation of different salt compositions. The significance of pH control and the effect of the salt form (e.g., fumarate) was also investigated. It is critical that the pKa value and the intrinsic solubility are accurately determined when the HH relationship is used to predict the pH-dependent aqueous solubility of drugs.