PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLY (VINYL ALCOHOL)–POLY (VINYL PYRROLIDONE) MUCOADHESIVE BUCCAL PATCHES FOR DELIVERY OF LIDOCAINE HCL

Objective: The objectives of this study were to prepare and characterize a buccal mucoadhesive patch using poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a mucoadhesive matrix, Eudragit S100 as a backing layer, and lidocaine HCl as a model drug.Methods: Lidocaine HCl buccal patches were prepared using double casting technique. Molecular interactions in the polymer matrices were studied using attenuated total reflectance-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffractometry. Mechanical and mucoadhesive properties were measured using texture analyzer. In vitro permeation of lidocaine HCl from the patch was conducted using Franz diffusion cell.Results: Both of the free and lidocaine HCl patches were smooth and transparent, with good flexibility and strength. ATR-FTIR, DSC and X-ray diffractometry studies confirmed the interaction of PVA and PVP. Mechanical properties of matrices containing 60% PVP were significantly lower than those containing 20% PVP (*P<0.05). Mucoadhesive properties had a tendency to decrease with the concentration of PVP in the patch. The patch containing 60% PVP had significantly lower muco-adhesiveness than those containing 20% PVP (*P<0.05). In vitro permeation revealed that the pattern of lidocaine HCl permeation started with an initial fast permeation, followed by a slower permeation rate. The initial permeation fluxes follow the zero-order model of which rate was not affected by the PVP concentrations in the PVA/PVP matrix.Conclusion: Mucoadhesive buccal patches fabricated with PVA/PVP were successfully prepared. Incorporation of PVP in PVA/PVP matrix affected the strength of polymeric matrix and mucoadhesive property of patches

Nicotine stabilization in composite sodium alginate based wafers and films for nicotine replacement therapy

Composite wafers and films comprising HPMC and sodium alginate (SA) were formulated for nicotine (NIC) replacement therapy via the buccal route. Magnesium aluminium silicate (MAS) was added in different concentration ratios (0.25, 0.5, 0.75) to stabilize NIC and its effect on mechanical properties, internal and surface morphology, physical form, thermal properties, swelling, mucoadhesion, drug content and release behaviour of the formulations was investigated. MAS changed the physico-mechanical properties of the composite formulations causing a decrease in mechanical hardness, collapsed wafer pores, increased roughness of film surface, increase in crystallinity and decreased mucoadhesion of the wafers. However, MAS increased swelling in both films and wafers as well as interaction between NIC and SA, which increased drug-loading capacity. Further, MAS resulted in rapid and slow release of NIC from wafers and films respectively. The results suggest that the ideal formulation for the stabilization of NIC in the composite formulations was MAS 0.25

Composite HPMC and sodium alginate based buccal formulations for nicotine replacement therapy

Smoking cessation is of current topical interest due to the significant negative health and economic impact in many countries. This study aimed to develop buccal films and wafers comprising HPMC and sodium alginate (SA) for potential use in nicotine replacement therapy via the buccal mucosa, as a cheap but effective alternative to currently used nicotine patch and chewing gum. The formulations were characterised using texture analyser (tensile and hardness, mucoadhesion), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and swelling capacity. Drug loaded films and wafers were characterised for content uniformity (HPLC) whilst the drug loaded wafers only were further characterised for in vitro drug dissolution. SA modified and improved the functional properties of HPMC at optimum ratio of HPMC: SA of 1.25: 0.75. Generally, both films and wafers (blank and drug loaded) were amorphous in nature which impacted on swelling and mucoadhesive performance. HPMC-SA composite wafers showed a porous internal morphology with higher mucoadhesion, swelling index and drug loading capacity compared to the HPMC-SA composite films which were non-porous. The study demonstrates the potential use of composite HPMC-SA wafers in the buccal delivery nicotine

Dietary protein requirements for growth performance and effects on carcass composition of young Siamese spiny eel, Macrognathus siamensis (Günther, 1861)

The study on protein requirement of young Siamese spiny eel, Macrognathus siamensis (GÜnther, 1861) was conducted using six different protein level (35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 % protein) with average gross energy of 450 kcal·100/g. The results demonstrated the maximum specific growth rate (SGR), % weight gain and daily weight gain were achieved at 55% protein while the fishes fed with 35% protein was the lowest. It was estimated by broken line regression that dietary protein level producing maximum growth was 46.50% protein. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) on survival rate amongst treatments. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) and apparent net protein retention (ANPR) were not significantly (P>0.05) affected by diet protein levels. No significant (P>0.05) effect of dietary protein levels was found on carcass moisture, crude protein, crude lipid and ash. However, carcass moisture, protein and ash were apparently increased in all fish groups after feeding trial, comparing to fish before the experiment

Using small-angle X-ray scattering to investigate the compaction behaviour of a granulated clay

The compaction behaviour of a commercial granulated clay (magnesium aluminium smectite, gMgSm) was investigated using macroscopic pressure-density measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray microtomography (XμT) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). This material was studied as a potential compaction excipient for pharmaceutical tabletting, but also as a model system demonstrating the capabilities of SAXS for investigating compaction in other situations. Bulk compaction measurements showed that the gMgSm was more difficult to compact than polymeric pharmaceutical excipients such as spheronised microcrystalline cellulose (sMCC), corresponding to harder granules. Moreover, in spite of using lubrication (magnesium stearate) on the tooling surfaces, rather high ejection forces were observed, which may cause problems during commercial tabletting, requiring further amelioration. Although the compacted gMgSm specimens were more porous, however, they still exhibited acceptable cohesive strengths, comparable to sMCC. Hence, there may be scope for using granular clay as one component of a tabletting formulation. Following principles established in previous work, SAXS revealed information concerning the intragranular structure of the gMgSm and its response to compaction. The results showed that little compression of the intragranular morphology occurred below a relative density of 0 · 6, suggesting that granule rearrangements or fragmentation were the dominant mechanisms during this stage. By contrast, granule deformation became considerably more important at higher relative density, which also coincided with a significant increase in the cohesive strength of compacted specimens. Spatially-resolved SAXS data was also used to investigate local variations in compaction behaviour within specimens of different shape. The results revealed the expected patterns of density variations within flat-faced cylindrical specimens. Significant variations in density, the magnitude of compressive strain and principal strain direction were also revealed in the vicinity of a debossed feature (a diametral notch) and within bi-convex specimens. The variations in compaction around the debossed notch, with a small region of high density below and low density along the flanks, appeared to be responsible for extensive cracking, which could also cause problems in commercial tabletting

Statistical optimization of alginate-based oral dosage form of 5-aminosalicylic acid aimed to colonic delivery: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Although different colon-targeting methods such as pH and time-dependent as well as bacterially degradable systems have been developed, due to variations in physiological conditions of patients, one system alone cannot produce a reliable drug delivery system. Therefore, in this study, an attempt was made to formulate 5-ASA pellets based on a combination of pH and time-dependent systems. A 32 full-factorial design was used to evaluate the effect of sodium alginate (SA) concentration and the polymer ratio (Eudragit® RS: Eudragit® S100) on morphology, mechanical features and release behaviour of 5-ASA pellet formulations. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry analysis ruled out any interactions between the formulations components. The optimized formulation released 35, 55 and 89% of the drug within 15 h, at pHs 1.2, 6.8 and 7.4, respectively. In vivo studies demonstrated that the administration of sodium alginate-based matrix pellets containing 5-ASA coated with ES100 was effective in alleviating the damaged tissues and also decreased the inflammatory score and the rate of weight loss in colitis rats. The results indicated the remarkable anti-inflammatory efficacy of the designed colonic delivery system and the proposed formulations can be further developed in the pharmaceutical industry for patient use

Drug delivery innovations to address global health challenges for pediatric and geriatric populations (through improvements in patient compliance)

Despite significant advances in pharmaceutical and biotechnological drug discovery, the global population is plagued with many challenging diseases. These are further compounded by anticipated explosion in an ageing population, which presents several problems such as polypharmacy, dysphagia, and neurologic conditions, resulting in noncompliance and disease complications. For antibiotics, poor compliance, can result in development of drug-resistant infections which can be fatal. Furthermore, children, especially, in developing countries die unnecessarily from easily treatable diseases (e.g., malaria), due to poor compliance arising from bitter taste and inability to swallow currently available medication. Although some of these challenges require the discovery of new drug compounds, a significant number can be resolved by employing pharmaceutics approaches to reduce the incidence of poor patient compliance. Such solutions are expected to make swallowing easier and reduce the need to swallow several solid medications, which is difficult for vulnerable pediatric and geriatric patients. This commentary will explore the current state of the art in the use of drug delivery innovations to overcome some of these challenges, taking cues from relevant regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, World Health Organization, and the peer-reviewed scientific and clinical literature