Estudio biofarmacéutico de triterpenos pentacíclicos antiinflamatorios vehiculizados en sistemas nanoestructurados para aplicación tópica

[spa] El ácido oleanólico (OA) y su isómero el ácido ursólico (UA), son triterpenos pentacíclicos que existen ampliamente en las plantas naturales, como acido libre o agliconas de saponinas triterpenoides, y son parte integral de la dieta humana. Estos triterpenos son de gran interés como agentes terapéuticos por sus diversas actividades farmacológicas, como antiinflamatoria, anticancerígena, antioxidante, hepatoprotectora, antimicrobiana, entre otras. El objetivo principal de este trabajo fue el diseñar, optimizar y caracterizar sistemas nanoestructurados como nanopartículas poliméricas de PLGA (NPs) y nanoemulsiones (NEm) conteniendo estos compuestos triterpenoides de origen natural (Plumeria obtusa) y sintético, evaluando su acción antiinflamatoria y citotóxica para aplicación tópica (ocular y dérmica). Las NPs fueron desarrolladas por el método de desplazamiento de solvente y optimizadas por un diseño factorial central compuesto, las NPs seleccionadas fue la compuesta por 1.0 mg/mL de OA/UA, 10.0 mg/mL de P188 y pH de 5.5 para la fase acuosa, que obtuvo valores de tamaño de partícula alrededor de los 200 nm, una carga superficial de -27 mV y una encapsulación entre 76-78%. Las NEm fueron desarrolladas por la construcción de diagramas pseudo-ternarios de fases, con una composición final de 20% de aceite de castor, 20% de propilenglicol, 59.80% de Smix con ratio 4:1 (47.84% de labrasol y 11.96% de transcutol-p) junto a las mezclas triterpenoides al 0.2%, presentando apariencia monofásica, tamaño de gota pequeño (~200 nm) e índices de polidispersidad alrededor de 0.2. Ambas formulaciones presentan una viscosidad baja (menor a 60 mPa·s) y siguen un comportamiento Newtoniano. Ambas mezclas de triterpenos tanto en NPs como NEm, no presentaron fenómenos de desestabilización (coalescencia, floculación, sedimentación, cremado, etc.) durante 30 días después de su elaboración, por lo que las formulaciones optimizadas se consideran sistemas estables. El perfil cinético que presentan ambas mezclas encapsuladas en NPs se ajusta a la función de Weibull, que sigue un mecanismo de liberación complejo. Mientras que la liberación de estas mezclas de las NEm, siguen un modelo cinético de la ecuación de Korsmeyer-Peppas, con un mecanismo de liberación de difusión no Fickiana o anómala. La permeación corneal de ambas mezclas en NPs, pone de relieve que hay mayor cantidad retenida en la córnea que cantidad permeada, siendo ligeramente superior en la mezcla natural. La capacidad de permeación en piel de las nanoemulsiones de ambas mezclas, demuestra también que hay mayor cantidad retenida de OA/UA en la piel que la cantidad permeada. El perfil de permeación mostró que a las primeras 4 horas de estudio hay mayor cantidad permeada de la mezcla sintética que de la mezcla natural. Los resultados de los ensayos de tolerancia ocular y dérmica in vitro e in vivo, indican que las formulaciones optimizadas muestran una tolerancia óptima, siendo seguras para aplicación tópica. Ambas mezclas tanto en NPs como en NEm muestran una inhibición eficaz de la inflamación local, siendo este efecto más marcado en las formulaciones de mezcla natural, ya que esta tiende a quedar más retenida en el área de contacto. La actividad citotóxica se llevó a cabo por el ensayo de Alamar blue, donde la nanoemulsión de la mezcla natural muestra actividad anticancerígena en la línea celular de melanoma murino B16, a partir de concentraciones más bajas (5 µM) que el compuesto puro (30 µM). La NEm blanca presenta también actividad anticancerígena desde los 5 µM, lo que podría deberse al aceite de castor, que potencia la acción del compuesto natural puro. Los resultados presentados en este trabajo demuestran claramente la idoneidad de estos sistemas coloidales desarrollados para un efecto anti-inflamatoria local tras la administración tópica.[eng] Oleanolic acid (OA) and its isomer ursolic acid (UA), pentacyclic triterpenes are widely existing in the natural plants and are integral part of the human diet. These triterpenes are of great interest as therapeutic agents for their various pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, among others. The main objective of this work was to design, optimize and characterize nanostructured systems such as PLGA-nanoparticles (NPs) and nanoemulsions (NEm) containing these natural (Plumeria obtusa) an synthetic triterpenoids compounds, evaluating their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities for application topical (ocular and dermal). The NPs were developed by the method of solvent displacement and optimized by central composite factorial design, the selected NPs was composed of 1.0 mg/mL OA/UA, 10.0 mg/mL of P188 and aqueous phase with pH of 5.5, obtained values of particle size around 200 nm, a surface charge of -27 mV and an encapsulation between 76-78%. NEm were developed for the construction of diagrams pseudo-ternary phase, with a final composition of 20% castor oil, 20% propylene glycol, 59.80% of Smix with ratio 4:1 (47.84% of labrasol and 11.96% of transcutol-P) together with 0.2% triterpenoid mixtures presenting monophasic appearance, small droplet size (~200 nm) and polydispersity index around 0.2. The kinetic profile of mixtures encapsulated in NPs fits with Weibull function, which follows a complex release mechanism. While the release of these mixtures from NEm follow a kinetic model of the Korsmeyer-Peppas equation, with release mechanism of non-Fickian or anomalous diffusion. The corneal and dermal permeation indicates that these triterpenoids compounds tend to be retained in greater amount in the contact area than the amount permeated, being retained slightly higher in the natural mixture. Both mixes in NPs and NEm show effective inhibition of local inflammation, this effect being more pronounced in the formulations of natural mixture. The natural mixture of nanoemulsion shows anticancer activity in the murine melanoma cell line B16, since lower concentrations (5 µM) to the pure compound (30 µM). The results presented here clearly demonstrate the suitability of these colloidal systems developed for a local anti-inflammatory effect after topical administration

Quantification of One Prenylated Flavanone from Eysenhardtia platycarpa and Four Derivatives in Ex Vivo Human Skin Permeation Samples Applying a Validated HPLC Method

Prenylated flavanones are polyphenols that have diverse biological properties. The present paper focuses on a HPLC method validation for the quantification of prenylated flavanones (2S)-5,7-dihydroxy-6-(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-1Benzopyran-4-one 1 and derivatives (2S)-5,7-bis(acetyloxy)-6-(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-1-Benzopyran-4-one A; (2S)-5-hydroxy-7-methoxy-6-(3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-1-Benzopyran-4-one B; (8S)-5-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-8-phenyl-3,4,7,8-tetrahydro-2H,6H-Benzo[1,2-b:5,4-bˈ]dipyran-6-one C; and (8S)-5-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-8-phenyl-7,8-dihydro-2H,6H-Benzo[1,2-b:5,4-bˈ]dipyran-6-one D applied in biopharmaceutic studies. The linear relationships are proven with significant correlation coefficients (R2 ˃ 0.999) in the range of 1.56 to 200 μg/mL with low limits of detection and quantification, on average of 0.4 μg/mL and 1.2 μg/mL, respectively. The validation method used in this work is highly accurate and precise, with values lower than 15%. The relative standard deviation values of repeatability of the instrumental system are demonstrated with less than 0.6% for all studied flavanones. Therefore, the applicability method of the quantification of the prenylated flavanones was established using the permeation of human skin in the Franz cell system. During the method previously described, there was no interference observed from human skin components in ex vivo permeation studies

Assessing the Solubility of Baricitinib and Drug Uptake in Different Tissues Using Absorption and Fluorescence Spectroscopies

The low water solubility of baricitinib (BCT) limits the development of new formulations for the topical delivery of the drug. The aims of this study were to assess the solubility of BCT in different solvents, including Transcutol, a biocompatible permeation enhancer that is miscible in water, to evaluate the drug uptake in human skin and porcine tissues (sclera, cornea, oral, sublingual, and vaginal), and to subsequently extract the drug from the tissues so as to determine the drug recovery using in vitro techniques. Analytical methods were developed and validated for the quantification of BCT in Transcutol using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, which are complementary to each other and permit the detection of the drug across a broad range of concentrations. Results show that Transcutol permits an increased drug solubility, and that BCT is able to penetrate the tissues studied. The solutions of BCT in Transcutol were stable for at least one week. Hence, Transcutol may be a suitable solvent for further development of topical formulations

In Vitro Cytotoxicity of Oleanolic/Ursolic Acids-Loaded in PLGA Nanoparticles in Different Cell Lines

Oleanolic (OA) and ursolic (UA) acids are recognized triterpenoids with anti-cancer properties, showing cell-specific activity that can be enhanced when loaded into polymeric nanoparticles. The cytotoxic activity of OA and UA was assessed by Alamar Blue assay in three different cell lines, i.e., HepG2 (Human hepatoma cell line), Caco-2 (Human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line) and Y-79 (Human retinoblastoma cell line). The natural and synthetic mixtures of these compounds were tested as free and loaded in polymeric nanoparticles in a concentration range from 2 to 32 µmol/L. The highest tested concentrations of the free triterpene mixtures produced statistically significant cell viability reduction in HepG2 and Caco-2 cells, compared to the control (untreated cells). When loaded in the developed PLGA nanoparticles, no differences were recorded for the tested concentrations in the same cell lines. However, in the Y-79 cell line, a decrease on cell viability was observed when testing the lowest concentration of both free triterpene mixtures, and after their loading into PLGA nanoparticles

Supramolecular Hydrogels Consisting of Nanofibers Increase the Bioavailability of Curcuminoids in Inflammatory Skin Diseases

The low bioavailability of curcuminoids (CCMoids) limits their use in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Our work shows that this constraint can be overcome upon their incorporation into supramolecular hydrogels assembled from a gemini-imidazolium amphiphilic gelator. Three structural CCMoid analogues were used to prepare supramolecular hydrogels, and it was observed that the concentration of both the gelator and CCMoid and the proportion of solvents influence the self-assembly process. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the nanostructured gels were studied to find the optimum gels, which were then further characterized microscopically, and their ability to release the CCMoid was evaluated. The physicochemical properties of the CCMoids play a fundamental role in the interaction with the gelator, influencing not only the gelation but also the morphology at the microscopic level, the mechanical properties, and the biopharmaceutical behavior such as the amount of CCMoid released from the gels. The nanostructured supramolecular hydrogels, which contain the CCMoids at much lower concentrations (μg/mL) in comparison to other products, promote the penetration of the CCMoids within the skin, but not their transdermal permeation, thus preventing any possible systemic effects and representing a safer option for topical administration. As a result, the CCMoid-containing hydrogels can effectively reduce skin inflammation in vivo, proving that these supramolecular systems are excellent alternatives in the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases

Assessing the Solubility of Baricitinib and Drug Uptake in Different Tissues Using Absorption and Fluorescence Spectroscopies

The low water solubility of baricitinib (BCT) limits the development of new formulations for the topical delivery of the drug. The aims of this study were to assess the solubility of BCT in different solvents, including Transcutol, a biocompatible permeation enhancer that is miscible in water, to evaluate the drug uptake in human skin and porcine tissues (sclera, cornea, oral, sublingual, and vaginal), and to subsequently extract the drug from the tissues so as to determine the drug recovery using in vitro techniques. Analytical methods were developed and validated for the quantification of BCT in Transcutol using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, which are complementary to each other and permit the detection of the drug across a broad range of concentrations. Results show that Transcutol permits an increased drug solubility, and that BCT is able to penetrate the tissues studied. The solutions of BCT in Transcutol were stable for at least one week. Hence, Transcutol may be a suitable solvent for further development of topical formulations

Intrinsic Permeation and Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of Curcumin, Bisdemethoxycurcumin and Bisdemethylcurcumin by a Validated HPLC-UV Method

Curcumin shows anti-inflammatory activity, and it has been widely investigated for neurodegenerative diseases, adjuvant treatment in AIDS and antitumor activity against different tumors, among other activities. The goal of this work was to evaluate the capacity of curcumin and its derivatives (bisdemethoxycurcumin and bisdemethylcurcumin) in preventing the irritant effects of topically applied xylol and to assess the intrinsic capacity of curcuminoids in permeating human skin by ex vivo permeation tests. Its secondary goal was to validate an HPLC method to simultaneously determine the curcuminoids in the samples from the ex vivo permeation studies and drug extraction from the skin. Curcuminoid quantification was performed using an RP-C18 column, at isocratic conditions of elution and a detection wavelength of 265 nm. The method was specific with a suitable peak resolution, as well as linear, precise, and accurate in the range of 0.195–3.125 μg/mL for the three curcuminoids. Bisdemethylcurcumin showed the greatest permeation through the human skin, and it was the curcuminoid that was most retained within the human skin. The anti-inflammatory activity of the curcuminoids was evaluated in vivo using a xylol-induced inflammation model in rats. Histological studies were performed to observe any changes in morphology at the microscopic level, and these three curcuminoids were found to be respectful within the skin structure. These results show that these three curcuminoids are suitable for anti-inflammatory formulations for dermal applications, and they can be properly quantified using HPLC-UV