The combination of targeted transport and improvement of the release profile of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a current trend in the development of oral medicinal products (MP). A well-known way to implement this concept is to obtain floating gastroretentive delivery systems that provide a long stay of the dosage form (DF) on the surface of the stomach contents. The nomenclature of excipients (Es) of a polymeric nature used in the technology of obtaining floating drug delivery systems (FDDS) is discussed. Based on the data presented in research papers, the most widely used groups of polymers, their properties, and their purpose in various technological approaches to achieving buoyancy have been determined. In addition, ways to modify the release of APIs in these systems and the Es used for this are described. The current trends in the use of polymers in the technology of floating dosage forms (FDF) and generalized conclusions about the prospects of this direction are outlined.
Technologies for obtaining dosage formulations (DF) for personalized therapy are currently being developed in the field of inkjet (2D) and 3D printing, which allows for the creation of DF using various methods, depending on the properties of pharmaceutical substances and the desired therapeutic effect. By combining these types of printing with smart polymers and special technological approaches, so-called 4D printed dosage formulations are obtained. This article discusses the main technological aspects and used excipients of a polymeric nature for obtaining 2D, 3D, 4D printed dosage formulations. Based on the literature data, the most widely used polymers, their properties, and application features are determined, and the technological characteristics of inkjet and additive 3D printing are shown. Conclusions are drawn about the key areas of development and the difficulties that arise in the search and implementation in the production of new materials and technologies for obtaining those dosage formulations.
N-butyl-N-methyl-1-phenylpyrrole[1,2-a] pyrazine-3-carboxamide (GML-3) is a potential candidate for combination drug therapy due to its anxiolytic and antidepressant activity. The anxiolytic activity of GML-3 is comparable to diazepam. The antidepressant activity of GML-3 is comparable to amitriptyline. GML-3 is an 18 kDa mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) ligand and is devoid of most of the side effects of diazepam, which makes the research on the creation of drugs based on it promising. However, its low water solubility and tendency to agglomerate prevented its release. This research aimed to study the effect of dry grinding, the rapid expansion of a supercritical solution (RESS), and the eutectic mixture (composite) of GML-3 with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the particle size, dissolution rate, and lattice retention of GML-3. The use of supercritical CO2 in the RESS method was promising in terms of particle size reduction, resulting in a reduction in the particle size of GML-3 to 20–40 nm with a 430-fold increase in dissolution rate. However, in addition to particle size reduction after RESS, GML-3 began to show signs of a polymorphism phenomenon, which was also studied in this article. It was found that coarse grinding reduced particle size by a factor of 2 but did not significantly affect solubility or crystal structure. Co-milling with the polymer made it possible to level the effect of the appearance of a residual electrostatic charge on the particles, as in the case of grinding, and the increased solubility in the resulting mechanical mixtures of GML-3 with the polymer may also indicate the dissolving properties of polymers (an increase in 400–800 times). The best result in terms of GML-3 solubility was demonstrated by the resulting GML-3:PVP composite at a ratio of 1:4, which made it possible to achieve a solubility of about 80% active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) within an hour with an increase in the dissolution rate by 1600 times. Thus, the creation of composites is the most effective method for improving the solubility of GML-3, superior to micronization.
The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the existing possibilities and methodology of mathematical modeling of the freezing phase in the technology of lyophilization of vials filled with a solution containing a pharmaceutical substance and auxiliary substances. The freezing process is crucial for the subsequent stages of primary sublimation and the drying stage. So it is at the stage of freezing that ice crystals are formed and a certain microstructure forming the pores for subsequent stages and influencing the speed of all stages in the future. The developed methods allow estimating the kinetics of cooling, freezing, calculating the sizes of ice crystals and determining the permeability of the sublimation layer. Of course, for these calculations it is necessary to know the conditions and values of the variables, calculated and measured during the pilot freezing. However, modeling allows to reduce the time of development and optimization of the process, increases the speed of transfer of the technological process to other equipment. In this review, formulas are analyzed, the thermal conductivity equations for each cooling zone, equations for estimating the crystal size and pore size in the dried layer, and calculating the permeability of the sublimated layer. The article draws conclusions about the perspective of modeling methods for the freezing phase, examines the equations used in modeling and demonstrates the model of supercooling, crystal formation and other mass and heat exchange processes during the cooling and freezing stage. The calculations presented in this paper are confirmed by references to experimental data and have great practical value.
The creation of drugs with an anxiolytic activity, which do not have the main side effects characteristic of drugs of this group, is an important and socially significant task. For its implementation, within the framework of the development of an original drug with an anxiolytic activity, the composition and manufacturing of GML-1 tablets (N-benzyl-N-methyl-1-phenylpyrrolo [1,2-a] pyrazine-3-carboxamide) are being developed.The aim of this article is to study, using a four-factor analysis of variance, the influence of composition factors on the manufacturing properties of GML-1 tablets and the selection of the type, the amount, stage of the disintegrant addition and the type of lubricating excipients used in the technology of wet granulation of GML-1 tablets.Materials and methods. The materials used are: the substance – GML-1 (N-benzyl-N-methyl-1-phenylpyrrolo [1,2-a] pyrazine-3-carboxamide). Excipients: microcrystalline cellulose 101 (MCC 101); polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP); crospovidone, croscarmellose sodium (CCS), sodium starch glycolate (SSG); magnesium stearate (MS), sodium stearyl fumarate (SSF). To obtain tablet mixtures, wet granulation and tableting with the study of their main pharmaceutical and technological properties was used.Results. Model compositions were developed and their pharmaceutical and technological properties were studied. These results have been analyzed, the degree of these factors’ influence and their interactions have been determined. In most of the cases considered, the interactions of the factors did not cause a significant change in the optimization criteria. With an increase in the amount of a disintegrant, the disintegration time decreased unevenly, so an increase in the amount of these excipients from 4 to 6 mg had a stronger effect than from 2 to 4 mg. Factor B affected the release degree non-linearly. Factor A influenced all the optimization criteria considered, especially a PS release. The best release and disintegration were observed with crospovidone, which was of a particular importance when processing the test results using a generalized desirability method.Conclusion. In view of the conflicting variance analysis results, for particular factors, the resulting values were additionally analyzed using the generalized desirability function. The use of this method made it possible to reduce the conflicting variance analysis results to the most optimal composition.
This work aimed to develop and characterize a water-soluble, high-release active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) composite based on the practically water-insoluble API N-butyl-N-methyl-1-phenylpyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-3-carboxamide (GML-3), a substance with antidepressant and anxiolytic action. This allows to ensure the bioavailability of the medicinal product of combined action. Composites obtained by the method of creating amorphous solid dispersions, where polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or Soluplus® was used as a polymer, were studied for crystallinity, stability and the release of API from the composite into purified water. The resulting differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), and dissolution test data indicate that the resulting composites are amorphous at 1:15 API: polymer ratios for PVP and 1:5 for Soluplus®, which ensures the solubility of GML-3 in purified water and maintaining the supercritical state in solution.