Karolina Miljak

Ms. Karolina Miljak


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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25 June 2026 in Pharmaceutics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
KMKarolina Miljak
Karolina Miljak
Kristina RadićKristina Radić
Kristina Radić
EGEmerik Galić
Emerik Galić
VŠVedrana Špada
Vedrana Špada
LVLucija Vrban
Lucija Vrban
Mario JugMario Jug
Mario Jug
Background/Objectives: α-lipoic acid (ALA) shows therapeutic potential but faces poor aqueous solubility (BCS Class II), gastric instability, and low oral bioavailability (~30%). This work investigated the formulation of cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexes of ALA to overcome the aforementioned limitations and improve nutraceutical applications. Methods: Phase solubility studies in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids screened for optimal CD, followed by molecular dynamics simulations and MM-PBSA binding free energy calculations. Inclusion complexes of choice were prepared by grinding, spray-drying, and lyophilization, followed by solid-state characterization (DSC/XRPD/FTIR). Further analysis was performed using pH-shift dissolution (USP II), permeability (PermeaPad®, Caco-2), and (photo)stability according to ICH. Results: Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) emerged as the optimal host due to favorable complexation, as confirmed by phase solubility studies and supported by molecular modeling, which revealed a favorable balance between inclusion complex stability and pH-triggered drug release. Formulations based on spray-dried and lyophilized HPβCD–ALA complexes (HPβALA-sd and HPβALA-lyo), in which ALA was fully amorphized, achieved near-complete dissolution within five minutes under biorelevant pH-shift conditions. This performance markedly exceeded that of free ALA (approximately 66% dissolution at pH 7.4) while maintaining moderate permeability (Papp 8–9 × 10−6 cm/s). Storage stability was enhanced markedly (88–90% ALA retention after 6 months at 40 °C/75% RH vs. 36% for free ALA) while UV stability was not improved through CD-complexation, probably due to interaction of UV-VIS light with the exposed portion of ALA. Conclusions: Even though the permeability of ALA–CD inclusion complexes remained medium (Papp ~ 8–9 × 10−6 cm/s) and unaffected by complexation, a significantly improved dissolution profile indicates better expected bioavailability compared to pure ALA.