The Role of Cyclodextrins in the Design and Development of Triterpene-Based Therapeutic Agents.

Triterpenic compounds stand as a widely investigated class of natural compounds due to their remarkable therapeutic potential. However, their use is currently being hampered by their low solubility and, subsequently, bioavailability. In order to overcome this drawback and increase the therapeutic use of triterpenes, cyclodextrins have been introduced as water solubility enhancers; cyclodextrins are starch derivatives that possess hydrophobic internal cavities that can incorporate lipophilic molecules and exterior surfaces that can be subjected to various derivatizations in order to improve their biological behavior. This review aims to summarize the most recent achievements in terms of triterpene:cyclodextrin inclusion complexes and bioconjugates, emphasizing their practical applications including the development of new isolation and bioproduction protocols, the elucidation of their underlying mechanism of action, the optimization of triterpenes' therapeutic effects and the development of new topical formulations.

Polymorphism, pseudopolymorphism, and amorphism of peracetylated alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins.

Polymorphism, pseudopolymorphism, and amorphism of hexakis(2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl)-alpha-cyclodextrin (TAalphaCyD), heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl)-beta-cyclodextrin (TAbetaCyD), and octakis(2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl)-gamma-cyclodextrin (TAgammaCyD) were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffractometry (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and optical microscopy. An anhydrous and a bi-hydrate crystalline forms of TAalphaCyD, two monotropic anhydrous polymorphs and three pseudopolymorphs (i.e. methanolate, hydrate, and isopropanolate-hydrate) of TAbetaCyD, as well as two monotropic anhydrous polymorphs and isostructural pseudopolymorphs (e.g. hydrate and isopropanolate-hydrate) of TAgammaCyD were isolated and characterized. The amorphous forms of each TACyD were also obtained. Thermal data for desolvation of TAalphaCyD.2H2O and TAbetaCyD.CH3OH were reconciled with their crystal packing features. Melting temperatures and enthalpies of the crystalline forms of each TACyD can be referred to for possible solid-state interactions with drugs.

Achiral selectivity in cyclodextrin-modified capillary electrophoresis.

Torus-shaped, circular, and hydrophilic cyclodextrins (CD) have been frequently used in capillary electrophoresis (CE) as buffer modifiers to effect chiral separation of enantiomers of drugs and specialty chemicals. Although less common, both neutral and charged cyclodextrins have also been exploited in CE to optimize the achiral separations of peptides, proteins, small molecules and a variety of positional isomers. Nonionic CDs are only useful for separations of net charged analytes through judicious partitioning of such guest molecules into their hydrophobic cavity of the former. However, they can be used with a surfactant for an effective resolution of neutral solutes as a result of a differential partitioning of such solutes in the micellar and the cyclodextrin-modified buffer phase. Ionic cyclodextrins, particularly, negatively charged derivatives with their own electrophoretic mobilities, increase the separation window and enable better resolution of analytes which weakly complex with or are poorly differentiated by neutral cyclodextrins.

Mechanism of capillary electrophoresis enantioseparations using a combination of an achiral crown ether plus cyclodextrins.

The addition of an achiral crown ether (18-crown-6) to a cyclodextrin-based separation can significantly affect the capillary electrophoresis (CE) enantioresolution of organic racemates that contain a primary amine functional group. In most cases an enhancement of the enantioseparation was observed. However, there are also cases where the addition of 18-crown-6 was detrimental to a cyclodextrin-based CE enantioseparation. The effect of concentration of the two complexing additives as well as the effect of pH and added potassium ion were examined. A specific three-body complex involving simultaneous, dual inclusion complex formation can be used to explain both the enhanced and diminished enantioselectivities observed when 18-crown-6 is added to the run buffer.

Controlling enantioselectivity in chiral capillary electrophoresis with inclusion-complexation.

The separation of chiral compounds is of key importance in different fields of application, e.g., pharmaceutical, industrial, forensic, biological, clinical etc. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful analytical method applied in chiral analysis and inclusion-complexation is one of the most frequently used mechanism to improve the selectivity of the enantiomeric separation. Cyclodextrins and their derivatives or modified crown-ethers have been successfully applied in CE for the enantiomeric separation of a wide number of analytes. This review surveys the separation of enantiomers by CE when chiral selectors, forming inclusion-complexation, are used. The control of enantioselectivity can be done carefully by considering several experimental parameters such as chiral selector type and concentration, pH, ionic strength and concentration of the background electrolyte, electroosmotic flow, organic modifier etc. The review presents a list of the latest separation of enantiomers by CE where inclusion-complexation plays a key role in the stereoselective separation mechanism.

Separation of oxazepam, lorazepam, and temazepam enantiomers by HPLC on a derivatized cyclodextrin-bonded phase: application to the determination of oxazepam in plasma.

The enantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of three racemic 3-hydroxybenzodiazepines, oxazepam (Oxa), lorazepam (Lor), and temazepam (Tem), is a difficult operation because of the spontaneous chiral inversion in polar solvent. To solve this problem, we have developed an HPLC method based on a chiral Cyclobond I-2000 RSP column, maintained at 12 degrees C, and a reversed mobile phase (acetonitrile in 1% triethylamine acetate buffer, TEAA) at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min. Peaks were detected by a photodiode-array detector at 230 nm for quantification and by an optical rotation detector for identification of (+) and (-) enantiomers. The results showed that peak resolutions of Oxa, Lor, and Tem enantiomers, analyzed under the same conditions, were 3.2, 2.0, and 1.8, respectively. For the determination of Oxa enantiomers in plasma of rabbits, extraction with diethyl ether at pH 1.5, a polar organic mobile phase, and a Cyclobond I-2000 SP column were used. Other analytical conditions were the same as previously described. Blood samples were immediately cooled at 4 degrees C and centrifuged at 0 degrees C for the collection of plasma. The results showed a difference in plasma S(+)- and R(-)-oxazepam concentrations in rabbits. No racemization of S(+)- or R(-)-Oxa enantiomers, added alone to blank plasma, was observed after extraction and enantioselective HPLC analysis.

Three-dimensional structure of the inclusion complex between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin.

The inclusion of phloridzin into beta-cyclodextrin was studied as a model of molecular recognition in membranes. Effects on 1H NMR spectra and NOE correlational peaks between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin were observed in the complex. Strong NOEs were observed between hydrogens of a phenol group in phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin. The three-dimensional structure of the inclusion complex between phloridzin and beta-cyclodextrin was simulated with distance constraints estimated by the intensity of NOE peaks using the DADAS90 programs. Two inclusion possibilities were suggested-the large rim of beta-cyclodextrin as an entrance of the inclusion and the small rim of beta-cyclodextrin as the entrance. In both cases, the phenol group of phloridzin was included in the hydrophobic space of beta-cyclodextrin.

[Pharmaceutical application of cyclodextrins as multi-functional drug carriers].

Owing to the increasingly globalized nature of the cyclodextrin (CyD)-related science and technology, development of the CyD-based pharmaceutical formulation is rapidly progressing. The pharmaceutically useful CyDs are classified into hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and ionic derivatives. Because of the multi-functional characteristics and bioadaptability, these CyDs are capable of alleviating the undesirable properties of drug molecules through the formation of inclusion complexes or the form of CyD/drug conjugates. This review outlines the current application of CyDs in drug delivery and pharmaceutical formulation, focusing on the following evidences. 1) The hydrophilic CyDs enhance the rate and extent of bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. 2) The amorphous CyDs such as 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-CyD are useful for inhibition of polymorphic transition and crystallization rates of drugs during storage. 3) The delayed release formulation can be obtained by the use of enteric type CyDs such as O-carboxymethyl-O-ethyl-beta-CyD. 4) The hydrophobic CyDs are useful for modification of the release site and/or time profile of water-soluble drugs with prolonged therapeutic effects. 5) The branched CyDs are particularly effective in inhibiting the adsorption to hydrophobic surface of containers and aggregation of polypeptide and protein drugs. 6) The combined use of different CyDs and/or pharmaceutical additives can serve as more functional drug carriers, improving efficacy and reducing side effects. 7) The CyD/drug conjugates may provide a versatile means for the constructions of not only colonic delivery system but also site-specific drug release system, including gene delivery. On the basis of the above-mentioned knowledge, the advantages and limitations of CyDs in the design of advanced dosage forms will be discussed.

Optimization of enantiomeric separations in capillary electrophoresis by applying a design of experiments approach.

During early-phase pharmaceutical development, it is important to find an initial separation of enantiomeric compounds quickly in order to determine the enantiomeric purity of chiral drug substances. Highly selective screening methods are necessary to analyze the products to discover a satisfactory separation of the enantiomeric compounds. A screening approach based on the use of mixtures of multiple cyclodextrins in chiral capillary electrophoresis was employed to find the initial separation of chiral compounds. In a later phase of development, these complex methods need to be simplified for transferability. This study describes the simplification of the complex mixture of cyclodextrins into a single or dual system of only the enantioselective cyclodextrins. This was achieved by applying fractional factorial experimental designs to select the cyclodextrins that were responsible for the enantiomeric separation and response surface modeling designs for the optimization of the separation. In order to obtain robust methods, the concentration of the chiral selector, together with other important electrophoretic method parameters such as the concentration of the background electrolyte, pH, and run voltage, were optimized by employing a Box-Behnken experimental design.

Fast method development and rapid analysis using a screening approach for enantiomeric separations in capillary electrophoresis.

In order to speed up the trial-and-error process during enantioselective capillary electrophoresis methods development, a systemized approach is proposed to develop methods by applying several screening methods in the search for an initial separation. Screening methods combine high selectivity with broad applicability and are applied to find an initial enantiomeric separation during early pharmaceutical development (pre-Phase 1 to Phase 1). The goal is to achieve enantiomeric separation rapidly in order to characterize the chiral purity of pharmaceutical products. Dedicated, highly efficient screening methods are suggested for basic, neutral, and acidic compounds. In these screening methods, multiple chiral selectors are applied in mixtures at different buffer pH values. For the compounds studied, the technique allows fast method development. Furthermore, it is potentially applicable to a wide range of low-molecular-weight compounds and permits rapid analysis at low cost, since runs are performed in inexpensive, bare silica capillaries using ordinary buffer systems with only typical cyclodextrins as the selector. Along with simplicity and robustness, the approach results in sufficient efficacy (i.e., it is easy, straightforward, and reproducible, with a high success rate). Typical pharmaceutical applications are described. The major advantage of the screening approach to methods development is the decrease in development cycle time. The total screening time for one compound was about 5.3 hr on one CE instrument.