Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has lent urgency to finding new drug leads with novel modes of action. A high-throughput screening campaign of >65,000 actinomycete extracts for inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis viability identified ecumicin, a macrocyclic tridecapeptide that exerts potent, selective bactericidal activity against M. tuberculosis in vitro , including nonreplicating cells. Ecumicin retains activity against isolated multiple-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of M. tuberculosis . The subcutaneous administration to mice of ecumicin in a micellar formulation at 20 mg/kg body weight resulted in plasma and lung exposures exceeding the MIC. Complete inhibition of M. tuberculosis growth in the lungs of mice was achieved following 12 doses at 20 or 32 mg/kg. Genome mining of lab-generated, spontaneous ecumicin-resistant M. tuberculosis strains identified the ClpC1 ATPase complex as the putative target, and this was confirmed by a drug affinity response test. ClpC1 functions in protein breakdown with the ClpP1P2 protease complex. Ecumicin markedly enhanced the ATPase activity of wild-type (WT) ClpC1 but prevented activation of proteolysis by ClpC1. Less stimulation was observed with ClpC1 from ecumicin-resistant mutants. Thus, ClpC1 is a valid drug target against M. tuberculosis , and ecumicin may serve as a lead compound for anti-TB drug development.

The objective of this study was to investigate the pH-dependent solubility and dissolution of weakly basic Biopharmaceutical Classification Systems (BCS) class II drugs, characterized by low solubility and high permeability, using carvedilol, a weak base with a pK _a value of 7.8, as a model drug. A series of solubility and in vitro dissolution studies was carried out using media that simulate the gastric and intestinal fluids and cover the physiological pH range of the GI from 1.2 to 7.8. The effect of ionic strength, buffer capacity, and buffer species of the dissolution media on the solubility and dissolution behavior of carvedilol was also investigated. The study revealed that carvedilol exhibited a typical weak base pH-dependent solubility profile with a high solubility at low pH (545.1–2591.4 μg/mL within the pH range 1.2–5.0) and low solubility at high pH (5.8–51.9 μg/mL within the pH range 6.5–7.8). The dissolution behavior of carvedilol was consistent with the solubility results, where carvedilol release was complete (95.8–98.2% released within 60 min) in media simulating the gastric fluid (pH 1.2–5.0) and relatively low (15.9–86.2% released within 240 min) in media simulating the intestinal fluid (pH 6.5–7.8). It was found that the buffer species of the dissolution media may influence the solubility and consequently the percentage of carvedilol released by forming carvedilol salts of varying solubilities. Carvedilol solubility and dissolution decreased with increasing ionic strength, while lowering the buffer capacity resulted in a decrease in carvedilol solubility and dissolution rate.

Chronic oral administration of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac diethylamine (DDEA), is often associated with gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding. As an alternative to oral administration, a nanoemulsion-based gel (NE gel) formulation of DDEA was developed for topical administration. An optimized formulation for the o/w nanoemulsion of oil, surfactant and cosurfactant was selected based on nanoemulsion mean droplet size, clarity, stability, and flowability, and incorporated into the gelling agent Carbopol® 971P. Rheological studies of the DDEA NE gel were conducted and compared to those of conventional DDEA gel and emulgel. The three gels exhibited an elastic behavior, where G′ dominated G″ at all frequencies, indicating the formation of strong gels. NE gel exhibited higher G′ values than conventional gel and emulgel, which indicated the formation of a stronger gel network. Strat-M® membrane, a synthetic membrane with diffusion characteristics that are well correlated to human skin, was used for the in vitro diffusion studies. The release of DDEA from conventional gel, emulgel and NE gel showed a controlled release pattern over 12 h, which was consistent with the rheological properties of the gels. DDEA release kinetics from the three gels followed super case II transport as fitted by Korsmeyer–Peppas model.