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Hens, Bart, et al.
(author)
Formulation predictive dissolution (fPD) testing to advance oral drug product development : An introduction to the US FDA funded '21st Century BA/BE' project
2018
In: International Journal of Pharmaceutics. - : Elsevier. - 0378-5173 .- 1873-3476. ; 548:1, s. 120-127
Research review (peer-reviewed) abstract
Over the past decade, formulation predictive dissolution (fPD) testing has gained increasing attention. Another mindset is pushed forward where scientists in our field are more confident to explore the in vivo behavior of an oral drug product by performing predictive in vitro dissolution studies. Similarly, there is an increasing interest in the application of modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) frameworks and high-performance computing platforms to study the local processes underlying absorption within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In that way, CFD and computing platforms both can inform future PBPK-based in silico frameworks and determine the GI-motility-driven hydrodynamic impacts that should be incorporated into in vitro dissolution methods for in vivo relevance. Current compendial dissolution methods are not always reliable to predict the in vivo behavior, especially not for biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class 2/4 compounds suffering from a low aqueous solubility. Developing a predictive dissolution test will be more reliable, cost-effective and less time-consuming as long as the predictive power of the test is sufficiently strong. There is a need to develop a biorelevant, predictive dissolution method that can be applied by pharmaceutical drug companies to facilitate marketing access for generic and novel drug products. In 2014, Prof. Gordon L. Amidon and his team initiated a far-ranging research program designed to integrate (1) in vivo studies in humans in order to further improve the understanding of the intraluminal processing of oral dosage forms and dissolved drug along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, (2) advancement of in vitro methodologies that incorporates higher levels of in vivo relevance and (3) computational experiments to study the local processes underlying dissolution, transport and absorption within the intestines performed with a new unique CFD based framework. Of particular importance is revealing the physiological variables determining the variability in in vivo dissolution and GI absorption from person to person in order to address (potential) in vivo BE failures. This paper provides an introduction to this multidisciplinary project, informs the reader about current achievements and outlines future directions.
4.
Olivares-Morales, Andres, et al.
(author)
Translating Human Effective Jejunal Intestinal Permeability to Surface-Dependent Intrinsic Permeability : a Pragmatic Method for a More Mechanistic Prediction of Regional Oral Drug Absorption
2015
In: AAPS Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1550-7416. ; 17:5, s. 1177-1192
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Regional intestinal effective permeability (P-eff) values are key for the understanding of drug absorption along the whole length of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The distal regions of the GI tract (i.e. ileum, ascending-transverse colon) represent the main sites for GI absorption when there is incomplete absorption in the upper GI tract, e.g. for modified release formulations. In this work, a new and pragmatic method for the estimation of (passive) intestinal permeability in the different intestinal regions is being proposed, by translating the observed differences in the available mucosal surface area along the human GI tract into corrections of the historical determined jejunal P-eff values. These new intestinal Peff values or "intrinsic" P-eff(P-eff,P-int) were subsequently employed for the prediction of the ileal absorption clearance (CLabs,ileum) for a set of structurally diverse compounds. Additionally, the method was combined with a semi-mechanistic absorption PBPK model for the prediction of the fraction absorbed (f(abs)). The results showed that Peff, int can successfully be employed for the prediction of the ileal CLabs and the f(abs). P-eff,P-int also showed to be a robust predictor of the f(abs) when the colonic absorption was allowed in the PBPK model, reducing the overprediction of f(abs) observed for lowly permeable compounds when using the historical P-eff values. Due to its simplicity, this approach provides a useful alternative for the bottom-up prediction of GI drug absorption, especially when the distal GI tract plays a crucial role for a drug's GI absorption.
5.
Dahlgren, David, et al.
(author)
Regional Intestinal Permeability of Three Model Drugs in Human
2016
In: Molecular Pharmaceutics. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1543-8384 .- 1543-8392. ; 13:9, s. 3013-3021
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Currently there are only a limited number of determinations of human P-eff in the distal small intestine and none in the large intestine. This has hindered the validation of preclinical models with regard to absorption in the distal parts of the intestinal tract, which can be substantial for BCS class II-IV drugs, and drugs formulated into modified-release (MR) dosage forms. To meet this demand, three model drugs (atenolol, metoprolol, and ketoprofen) were dosed in solution intravenously, and into the jejunum, ileum, and colon of 14 healthy volunteers. The P-eff of each model drug was then calculated using a validated deconvolution method. The median P-eff of atenolol in the jejunum, ileum, and colon was 0.45, 0.15, and 0.013 X 10(-4) cm/s, respectively. The corresponding values for metoprolol were 1.72, 0.72, and 1.30 X 10(-4) cm/s, and for ketoprofen 8.85, 6.53, and 3.37 X 10(-4) cm/s, respectively. This is the first study where the human Peff of model drugs has been determined in all parts of the human intestinal tract in the same subjects. The jejunal values were similar to directly determined values using intestinal single-pass perfusion, indicating that the deconvolution method is a valid approach for determining regional P-eff. The values from this study will be highly useful in the validation of preclinical regional absorption models and in silico tools.
6.
Ahnfelt, Emelie, et al.
(author)
A miniaturized in vitro release method for investigating drug-release mechanisms
2015
In: International Journal of Pharmaceutics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-5173 .- 1873-3476. ; 486:1-2, s. 339-349
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
We have evaluated a miniaturized in vitro method, based on the mDISS Profiler (TM) technique that enables on-line monitoring of drug release from a 21 mu l sample with 10 ml of release medium. Four model drugs in eight clinically used formulations, including both solid and non-solid drug delivery systems, were investigated. The acquired data were compared with historical in vitro release data from the same formulations. Use of the Weibull function to describe the in vitro drug-release profiles allowed discrimination between the selected formulations with respect to the drug-release mechanisms. Comparison of the release data from the same formulation in different in vitro set-ups showed that the methodology used can affect the mechanism of in vitro release. We also evaluated the ability of the in vitro methods to predict in vivo activity by comparing simulated plasma concentration-time profiles acquired from the application of the biopharmaceutical software GI-Sim to the in vitro observations. In summary, the simulations based on the miniaturized-method release data predicted the plasma profiles as well as or more accurately than simulations based on the historical release data in 71% of the cases and this miniaturized in vitro method appears to be applicable for both solid and non-solid formulations.
7.
Ahnfelt, Emelie, et al.
(author)
In Vitro Release Mechanisms of Doxorubicin From a Clinical Bead Drug-Delivery System
2016
In: Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3549 .- 1520-6017. ; 105:11, s. 3387-3398
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
The release rate of doxorubicin (DOX) from the drug-delivery system (DDS), DC Bead, was studied by 2 miniaturized in vitro methods: free-flowing and sample reservoir. The dependencies of the release mechanisms on in vitro system conditions were investigated experimentally and by theoretical modeling. An inverse relationship was found between release rates and bead size, most likely due to the greater total surface area. The release rates correlated positively with temperature, release medium volume, and buffer strength, although the release medium volume had larger effect than the buffer strength. The sample reservoir method generated slower release rates, which described the in vivo release profile more accurately than the free-flowing method. There was no difference between a pH of 6.3 or 7.4 on the release rate, implying that the slightly acidic tumor microenvironment is less importance for drug release. A positive correlation between stirring rate and release rate for all DDS sizes was observed, which suggests film controlled release. Theoretical modeling highlighted the influence of local equilibrium of protonation, self-aggregation, and bead material interactions of DOX. The theoretical release model might describe the observed larger sensitivity of the release rate to the volume of the release medium compared to buffer strength. A combination of miniaturized in vitro methods and theoretical modeling are useful to identify the important parameters and processes for DOX release from a micro gel-based DDS.
8.
Ahnfelt, Emelie
(author)
In vitro evaluation of formulations used in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma
2018
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes ~ 600,000 deaths annually, making it the second most deadly cancer form. HCC is classified into five stages and for the intermediate HCC treatment, the two most commonly used drug delivery systems (DDSs) are lipiodol-based emulsions and drug-eluting beads. The aims of this thesis were to develop in vitro methods suitable for studying these DDSs. It is important to investigate the release mechanisms and release rates with relevant in vitro methods, as this can improve the understanding of the in vivo performance. Miniaturized in vitro methods with sample reservoirs separated from the release medium by a diffusion barrier were developed and shown to be suitable for studying drug release from particle DDSs (Paper I). In Paper II these methods were further developed and used to study the release of doxorubicin (DOX) from the clinically used drug-eluting beads. DOX release rates were affected by the method set-up and the characteristics of the release medium. The choice of method and volume of release medium could improve the in vivo-likeness of the in vitro release profiles. Applied theoretical models suggested a film-controlled type of DOX release mechanism from the beads when self-aggregation, DOX-bead interaction, and DOX deprotonation were taken into account.A micropipette-assisted microscopy method was used to further improve the understanding of the release mechanism of amphiphilic molecules from the beads (Paper III). A detailed analysis suggested an internal depletion-layer model dependent on molecular self-aggregation for the release. It was further suggested that a simple ion-exchange mechanism is unrealistic in physiological conditions.The important pharmaceutical factors for the emulsion-based formulations were investigated in Paper IV. DOX solubility, lipid phase distribution, and emulsion stability increased when the contrast agent iohexol was added. Also, an increase in release half-life (h) was observed from emulsions with iohexol.The in vitro methods and theoretical models presented in this thesis can be used during development and optimization of future DDSs.
9.
Ahnfelt, Emelie, et al.
(author)
Single bead investigation of a clinical drug delivery system – a novel release mechanism
2018
In: Journal of Controlled Release. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-3659 .- 1873-4995. ; 292, s. 235-247
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Microgels, such as polymeric hydrogels, are currently used as drug delivery devices (DDSs) for chemotherapeutics and/or unstable drugs. The clinical DDS DC bead® was studied with respect to loading and release, measured as relative bead-volume, of six amphiphilic molecules in a micropipette-assisted microscopy method. Theoretical models for loading and release was used to increase the mechanistic understanding of the DDS.It was shown that equilibrium loading was independent of amphiphile concentration. The loading model showed that the rate-determining step was diffusion of the molecule from the bulk to the bead surface (‘film control’). Calculations with the developed and applied release model on the release kinetics were consistent with the observations, as the amphiphiles distribute unevenly in the bead. The rate determining step of the release was the diffusion of the amphiphile molecule through the developed amphiphile-free depletion layer. The release rate is determined by the diffusivity and the tendency for aggregation of the amphiphile where a weak tendency for aggregation (i.e. a large cacb) lead to faster release. Salt was necessary for the release to happen, but at physiological concentrations the entry of salt was not rate-determining. This study provides valuable insights into the loading to and release from the DDS. Also, a novel release mechanism of the clinically used DDS is suggested.
10.
Dahlgren, David
(author)
Biopharmaceutical aspects of intestinal drug absorption : Regional permeability and absorption-modifying excipients
2018
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Before an orally administered drug reaches the systemic circulation, it has to dissolve in the intestinal fluids, permeate across the intestinal epithelial cell barrier, and pass through the liver. The permeation rate of drug compounds can be low and show regional differences.The thesis had two general aims. The first of these was, to determine and compare regional intestinal permeability values of model compounds in human and dog. The second was to understand the possible effects of absorption-modifying pharmaceutical excipients (AMEs) on the intestinal permeability of the model compounds. The usefulness of several preclinical animal models for predicting the impact of regional intestinal permeability and AMEs in human was also investigated.There was a good correlation between human and dog permeability values in the small intestines for the model compounds. The colon in dog was substantially more permeable than the human colon to the low permeability drug, atenolol. This difference in colonic permeability may have implications for the use of dog as a model species for prediction of human intestinal drug absorption.There were no effects of AMEs on the intestinal permeability of any of the high permeability compounds, in any animal model. In the rat single-pass intestinal perfusion model, there was a substantial increase in permeability of all low permeability drugs, induced by two AMEs, chitosan and SDS. This AME-induced increase was substantially lower in the more in vivo relevant rat and dog intraintestinal bolus models. A shorter AME exposure-time in the rat single-pass intestinal perfusion model (15 vs. 75 min) could, however, predict the result from the bolus studies in rat and dog. This illustrates the impact of intestinal transit and mucosal exposure time on AME effects in vivo. The intestinal luminal conditions and enteric neural activity also had an impact on determinations of drug permeability in the rat single-pass intestinal perfusion model, which can have implications for its in vivo relevance.In summary, this thesis used multiple in vivo models to evaluate the impact of several biopharmaceutical processes on intestinal drug absorption. This has led to an increased understanding of these absorption mechanisms.
