Processing Impact on In Vitro and In Vivo Performance of Solid Dispersions-A Comparison between Hot-Melt Extrusion and Spray Drying.

Presently, a large number of drug molecules in development are BCS class II or IV compounds with poor aqueous solubility. Various novel solubilization techniques have been used to enhance drug solubility. Among them, amorphous solid dispersions (ASD), which convert a crystalline drug into an amorphous mixture of drug and polymer, have been demonstrated to be an effective tool in enhancing drug solubility and bioavailability. There are multiple ways to produce amorphous solid dispersions. The goal of the present study is to investigate two commonly used processing methods, hot-melt extrusion (HME) and spray drying, and their impact on drug bioperformance. The amorphous solid dispersions of a model compound, posaconazole (25% drug loading) in HPMCAS-MF, were successfully manufactured via the two processing routes, and the physicochemical properties, in vitro and in vivo performance of the resulting ASDs were characterized and compared. It was found that in vitro drug release of the ASDs from two-stage dissolution was significantly different. However, the two ASDs showed similar in vivo performance based on cynomolgus monkey PK studies. A mechanistic understanding of the in vitro and in vivo behaviors of the solid dispersions was discussed.

Drug Release and Nanodroplet Formation from Amorphous Solid Dispersions: Insight into the Roles of Drug Physicochemical Properties and Polymer Selection.

Dissolution of amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) can lead to the formation of amorphous drug-rich nano species (nanodroplets) via liquid-liquid phase separation or glass-liquid phase separation when the drug concentration exceeds the amorphous solubility. These nanodroplets have been shown to be beneficial for ASD performance both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, understanding the generation and stability of nanodroplets from ASD formulations is important. In this study, the impacts of polymer selection and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) physicochemical properties (wet glass transition temperature (Tg) and log P) on nanodroplet release were studied. Six APIs with different physicochemical properties were formulated as ASDs with two polymers, polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate (PVPVA) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS). Their release performance was evaluated using both powder and surface normalized dissolution of compacts. In general, HPMCAS-based dispersions resulted in higher drug release compared to PVPVA-based dispersions. The two polymers also exhibited different trends in nanodroplet formation as a function of drug loading (DL). PVPVA ASDs exhibited a "falling-off-the-cliff" effect, with a dramatic decline in release performance with a small increase in drug loading, while HPMCAS ASDs exhibited a negative "slope" in the release rate as a function of drug loading. For both polymers, low Tg compounds achieved higher levels of nanodroplet formation compared to high Tg compounds. The nanodroplets generated from ASD dissolution were also monitored with dynamic light scattering, and HPMCAS was found to be more effective at stabilizing nanodroplets against size increase. Insights from this study may be used to guide formulation design and selection of excipients based on API physicochemical properties.

Building a better particle: Leveraging physicochemical understanding of amorphous solid dispersions and a hierarchical particle approach for improved delivery at high drug loadings.

Amorphous solid dispersions are a promising option for managing compounds with poor aqueous solubility. However, for compounds with high melting points, thermal stability limitations, or poor solubility in volatile solvents, conventional routes of hot melt extrusion or spray drying may not be viable. Co-precipitated amorphous dispersions (cPAD) can provide a solution. For the material studied in this paper, the cPAD material that was seemingly identical to spray dried material in terms of being single phase amorphous (as measured by DSC and XRD ) but showed slower dissolution behavior. It was identified that physical properties of the cPAD material could be improved to enhance wettability and improve dissolution performance. This was achieved by incorporating the cPAD material into a matrix of water soluble excipients generated via evaporative isolation routes. Importantly, this approach appears to offer another route to further increase the drug load in final dosage units and is significant as increased drug loading generally results in slower or incomplete release. Results showed successful proof of concept via in vitro biorelevant dissolution and confirmatory canine pharmacokinetic studies yielding comparable exposure for capsules comprised of conventional spray dried material as well as capsules with elevated drug load comprised of cPAD hierarchical particles.

Producing Amorphous Solid Dispersions via Co-Precipitation and Spray Drying: Impact to Physicochemical and Biopharmaceutical Properties.

Many small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) exhibit low aqueous solubility and benefit from generation of amorphous dispersions of the API and polymer to improve their dissolution properties. Spray drying and hot-melt extrusion are 2 common methods to produce these dispersions; however, for some systems, these approaches may not be optimal, and it would be beneficial to have an alternative route. Herein, amorphous solid dispersions of compound A, a low-solubility weak acid, and copovidone were made by conventional spray drying and co-precipitation. The physicochemical properties of the 2 materials were assessed via X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The amorphous dispersions were then formulated and tableted, and the performance was assessed in vivo and in vitro. In human dissolution studies, the co-precipitation tablets had slightly slower dissolution than the spray-dried dispersion, but both reached full release of compound A. In canine in vitro dissolution studies, the tablets showed comparable dissolution profiles. Finally, canine pharmacokinetic studies showed that the materials had comparable values for the area under the curve, bioavailability, and Cmax. Based on the summarized data, we conclude that for some APIs, co-precipitation is a viable alternative to spray drying to make solid amorphous dispersions while maintaining desirable physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characteristics.

Insights into Nano- and Micron-Scale Phase Separation in Amorphous Solid Dispersions Using Fluorescence-Based Techniques in Combination with Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

PURPOSE: Miscibility between the drug and the polymer in an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) is considered to be one of the most important factors impacting the solid state stability and dissolution performance of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The research described herein utilizes emerging fluorescence-based methodologies to probe (im)miscibility of itraconazole (ITZ)-hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) ASDs. METHODS: The ASDs were prepared by solvent evaporation with varying evaporation rates and were characterized by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, confocal imaging, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy. RESULTS: The size of the phase separated domains for the ITZ-HPMC ASDs was affected by the solvent evaporation rate. Smaller domains (<10 nm) were observed in spray-dried ASDs, whereas larger domains (>30 nm) were found in ASDs prepared using slower evaporation rates. Confocal imaging provided visual confirmation of phase separation along with chemical specificity, achieved by selectively staining drug-rich and polymer-rich phases. ssNMR confirmed the results of fluorescence-based techniques and provided information on the size of phase separated domains. CONCLUSIONS: The fluorescence-based methodologies proved to be sensitive and rapid in detecting phase separation, even at the nanoscale, in the ITZ-HPMC ASDs. Fluorescence-based methods thus show promise for miscibility evaluation of spray-dried ASDs.

Thiolate ligands as a double-edged sword for CO oxidation on CeO2 supported Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)18 nanoclusters.

The effect of thiolate ligands was explored on the catalysis of CeO2 rod supported Au25(SR)18 (SR = -SCH2CH2Ph) by using CO oxidation as a probe reaction. Reaction kinetic tests, in situ IR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) were employed to understand how the thiolate ligands affect the nature of active sites, activation of CO and O2, and reaction mechanism and kinetics. The intact Au25(SR)18 on the CeO2 rod is found not able to adsorb CO. Only when the thiolate ligands are partially removed, starting from the interface between Au25(SR)18 and CeO2 at temperatures of 423 K and above, can the adsorption of CO be observed by IR. DFT calculations suggest that CO adsorbs favorably on the exposed gold atoms. Accordingly, the CO oxidation light-off temperature shifts to lower temperature. Several types of Au sites are probed by IR of CO adsorption during the ligand removal process. The cationic Au sites (charged between 0 and +1) are found to play the major role for low-temperature CO oxidation. Similar activation energies and reaction rates are found for CO oxidation on differently treated Au25(SR)18/CeO2 rod catalysts, suggesting a simple site-blocking effect of the thiolate ligands in Au nanocluster catalysis. Isotopic labeling experiments clearly indicate that CO oxidation on the Au25(SR)18/CeO2 rod catalyst proceeds predominantly via the redox mechanism where CeO2 activates O2 while CO is activated on the dethiolated gold sites. These results point to a double-edged sword role played by the thiolate ligands on Au25 nanoclusters for CO oxidation.

Sub 2-µm macroporous silica particles derivatized for enhanced lectin affinity enrichment of glycoproteins.

A new, mechanically stable silica microparticle with macrosized internal pores (1.6 µm particles with 100 nm pores) has been developed for chromatography. The particles are characterized by an extensive network of interconnected macropores with a high intraparticle void volume, as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). They are synthesized by an aerosol assembly technique called ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). The particles have a high surface area for a macroporous material, ∼200 m(2)/g, making them suitable for large biomolecular separations. To demonstrate their potential for bioseparations, they have been functionalized with lectins for affinity enrichment of glycoproteins. The material was derivatized with two lectins, Concanavalin A (Con A) and Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL), and binding properties were tested with standard glycoproteins. The columns exhibited excellent binding capacities for microaffinity enrichment: Con A was able to bind 75 µg of a standard glycoprotein in a 50 × 1 mm column. Following initial tests, the lectin microcolumns were utilized for enrichment of glycoproteins from 1 µL volumes of blood serum samples, performed in triplicate for each lectin. The enriched serum fractions were subjected to side-by-side glycomic and glycoproteomic profiling analyses with mass spectrometry to show that the new particles offer excellent sensitivity for microscale analyses of precious biological sample materials. The unique combination of the macroporous architecture and small particle diameter suggests the material may have advantages for conventional modes of chromatographic separation of macromolecules in an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) format.

Aerosol-assisted molten salt synthesis of NaInS(2) nanoplates for use as a new photoanode material.

NaInS(2) , a H(2) -evolving photocatalyst, is synthesized as single-crystalline hexagonal plates by coupling a molten salt synthesis with ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) for the first time. USP NaInS(2) films are used as a new photoanode material and have an initial photocurrent of ≈37 µA/cm(2) upon illumination and activities 25 times greater than films made from a standard non-aerosol NaInS(2) sample.

Elucidating the structure-dependent photocatalytic properties of Bi2WO6: a synthesis guided investigation.

Polycrystalline microspheres and single-crystalline microplates of Bi(2)WO(6) have been synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. Herein, these materials are evaluated as photocatalysts for the visible light mediated degradation of rhodamine B, a model pollutant, and the results compared to those obtained with Bi(2)WO(6) prepared by traditional methods. The microplates, which displayed the best crystallinity and highest surface area, were anticipated to facilitate the greatest rate of dye photodegradation. However, the polycrystalline microspheres outperformed both the Bi(2)WO(6) microplates and traditional samples. To understand the origin of this result, the local and macroscale structures of the Bi(2)WO(6) samples were comprehensively characterized by spectroscopy techniques (diffuse reflectance, fluorescence, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) as well as electron microscopy and diffraction. This analysis found that the enhanced performance of the Bi(2)WO(6) microspheres results from the expression of a hydrophilic surface, a low concentration of point defects, and a moderate surface area. This finding highlights the significant role synthesis plays in imparting structure and functionality to solid materials.