Advanced Drug Delivery System-Practical Note
Advanced Drug Delivery System-Practical Note
Advanced Drug Delivery System-Practical Note
Faculty of Pharmacy
Department of Pharmaceutics
Pharm D – Program
Level Five - Pharmacy Students
Practical Notes in
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Introduction
The course aims to provide students with insights and competencies related to the
principles of pharmaceutical pre-formulation as a gateway to dosage forms design
and formulation. Emphasis is placed on developing formulations based on the
physical and chemical properties of the drug substance and the intended use of the
drug product.
The course also introduces the students to the formulation principles and applications
of novel and targeted drug delivery systems by transforming proteins, genes, and
other biotechnology driven compounds into therapeutic products. In addition to
formulation aspects of biotechnology derived pharmaceuticals, it also covers the
application of polymers and excipients to solve problems/issues concerning the
optimization of absorption, selective transport, and targeting.
1
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Course name: Advanced Drug Delivery أنظمة توصيل دواء متقدمة:اسم المقرر
Systems
University Mansoura
Faculty Pharmacy
Department offering the course Pharmaceutics
Department supervising the course Pharmaceutics
Program on which the course is given B. Pharm. (Pharm D)
Academic Level Level 5, Second semester, 2023/2024
Date of course specification approval September 2023
2
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
B. Professional Information:
1. Course Aims:
This course enables the students to:
● Gain comprehensive knowledge of the principles of pharmaceutical pre-formulation as a
gateway to dosage forms design and formulation.
● Explain formulations based on the physical and chemical properties of the drug substance
and the intended use of the drug product.
● Illustrate the formulation principles and applications of novel and targeted drug delivery
systems by transforming proteins, genes, and other biotechnology driven compounds into
therapeutic products.
● Know the formulation aspects of biotechnology derived pharmaceuticals.
● Explain the application of polymers and excipients to solve problems/issues concerning
the optimization of absorption, selective transport, and targeting.
3
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
2. Course k. elements:
Upon completing the course, the student will be able to dominate the following key elements
Domain 1- fundamental knowledge
Program K. Course K.
Course K. element
element no. element no.
1.1.1 1.1.1.1 Define the principles of pre-formulation.
1.1.1.2 Explain the basis for the development of strategies to deliver therapeutic
agents to specific target sites at rates appropriate for the optimization of
therapeutics effect.
1.1.3 1.1.3.1 Define the types, characteristics, and formulation methods of the
advanced drug delivery systems using different polymers.
1.1.3.2 Classify different techniques for the preparation of different advanced
drug delivery systems and their relevant basic principles, advantages, and
disadvantages of each technique.
4
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
3. Course Contents:
Week No. Topics Lecture
credit Hours
1 Introduction of pre-formulation. 1
2 Physical properties of the drugs and their effects on pre-formulation. 1
3 Stability and chemical properties of the drugs and their effects on pre- 1
formulation.
4 Targeted drug delivery (introduction, general concepts). 1
5 Mechanisms of targeting and strategies 1
6 Targeted Drug Delivery Strategies 1
7 Nano-sized drug delivery systems (introduction, advantages). 1
8 Nano-sized drug delivery systems (types). 1
9 Functionalization of nanocarriers and drug loading in nanocarriers. 1
(Self-learning topic: liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles).
10 Implants: introductions, advantages and applications. 1
11 Polymers (natural polymers) 1
12 Polymers (synthetic polymers) 1
13 Biotechnology therapeutic products 1
14 Gene therapy medicinal products and applications 1
15 Compensatory and alternative lecture 1
16 Revision and quiz 1
17 Final Written And Oral Exam -
Week No. Practical topics Practical
credit hours
1 Pre-formulation (Physical properties of the drugs). 1
2 Pre-formulation (Solubility and chemical properties of the drugs) 1
3 Targeted drug delivery (Main mechanisms of targeting) 1
4 Targeted Drug Delivery Strategies 1
5 Nano-sized drug delivery systems: Techniques for nanoparticles 1
preparation (Solid lipid nanocarriers, liposomes)
6 Nanocarriers‑strategies of the targeting mechanism 1
7 Conventional nanoparticles preparation techniques 1
8 Midterm exam -
9 Characterization Techniques of nanocarriers (part 1) 1
10 Characterization Techniques of nanocarriers (part 2) 1
11 Implants: applications of implantable drug delivery systems. 1
12 Polymers: applications of polymers 1
13 Biotechnology therapeutic products: Formulation Considerations of 1
Biopharmaceutical
14 Stability of Protein Based Pharmaceuticals 1
15 Revision and activity 1
16 Practical Exam 1
5
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
b- Assessment schedule
Assessment 1 Periodical (Mid-term 7-9th week
exam)/Course work
Assessment 2 Practical applying OSPE 16 th week
Assessment 3 Written Start from 17th week
Assessment 4 Oral Start from 17th week
Other assessment
c. Weighing of assessments
1 Periodical (Mid-term exam)/Course work 15%
2 Practical examination & tutorial 25%
3 Final-term examination 50%
4 Oral examination 10%
Total 100%
6
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
7. List of References
No Reference Type
1. Electronic book “Advanced Drug Delivery Systems” prepared by staff eBook
members.
2. Essential
Mitra A, Lee CH, Cheng K. Advanced Drug Delivery. Wiley; 2013
textbook
3. Mozafari M. Nanoengineered Biomaterials for Advanced Drug Delivery. Recommend
Elsevier; 2020. ed textbook
4. Dua K, Mehta M, Pinto T de JA, Pont LG, Williams KA, Rathbone M. Recommend
Advanced Drug Delivery Systems in the Management of Cancer. Elsevier; ed textbook
2021.
5. http://www.sciencedirect.com / http://www.google.com / Websites
http://www.pubmed.com
https://www.ekb.eg
7
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
8
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
9
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Collaborative
Course work
Course Content
Advanced
Periodical/
Learning
learning
learning:
Hybrid
lecture
Written
Oral
Self-
Introduction of pre-formulation. √ √ √ √ √
Physical properties of the drugs and their effects on √ √ √ √ √
pre-formulation.
Stability and chemical properties of the drugs and √ √ √ √ √
their effects on pre-formulation.
Targeted drug delivery (introduction, general √ √ √ √ √
concepts).
Mechanisms of targeting and strategies √ √ √ √
Targeted Drug Delivery Strategies √ √ √ √
Nano-sized drug delivery systems (introduction, √ √ √
advantages).
Nano-sized drug delivery systems (types). √ √ √ √
Functionalization of nanocarriers and drug loading √ √ √
in nanocarriers.
√ √
(Self-learning topic: liposomes, solid lipid √
nanoparticles).
Implants: introductions, advantages and √ √ √ √ √
applications.
Polymers (natural polymers) √ √ √ √ √
10
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
B) Practical part:
Teaching Assessment
and learning methods
methods
Course Content
Course work
works and
Periodical/
Learning
Practical
Practical/
tutorials
tutorials
Hybrid
Pre-formulation (Physical properties of the drugs). √ √ √ √
Pre-formulation (Solubility and chemical properties of √ √ √ √
the drugs)
Targeted drug delivery (Main mechanisms of targeting) √ √ √ √
Targeted Drug Delivery Strategies √ √ √ √
Nano-sized drug delivery systems: Techniques for √ √ √
nanoparticles preparation (Solid lipid nanocarriers,
liposomes)
Nanocarriers‑strategies of the targeting mechanism √ √ √
Conventional nanoparticles preparation techniques √ √ √
Characterization Techniques of nanocarriers (part 1) √ √ √
Characterization Techniques of nanocarriers (part 2) √ √ √
Implants: applications of implantable drug delivery √ √ √
systems.
Polymers: applications of polymers √ √ √
Biotechnology therapeutic products: Formulation √ √ √
Considerations of Biopharmaceutical
Stability of Protein Based Pharmaceuticals √ √ √
11
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 1
12
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Preformulation
Physical characteristics
Powder characteristics
The powder can be characterized by the following parameters: flow behavior, bulk density,
tapped density, true density, etc.
Powder flow properties
Sufficient flow is required for uniformity of dosage form. So it is necessary to judge the
flow of material in preformulation stage of the dosage form.
However extreme increase in flow may improve weight uniformity but may reduce content
uniformity through increased segregation.
The flow properties depend upon following:
1. Force of friction.
13
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
(Fine particles possess poor flow by filling void spaces between larger particles causing
packing & densification of particles).
• Particle shape and Surface roughness
• Hygroscopicity
• Electrostatic charge
Improvement of Flowability
By addition of glidant e.g., Starch, Talc.
By wet granulation
By use silicon treated powder for Hygroscopic & moist powder. e.g., silicon coated
talc or Na-bicarbonate
By use of spray drying: Advantose 100 “spray dried maltose powder” has improved flow
property than Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) by using this process.
14
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
15
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
2. Fragmentability
• If material is fragmentable, neither lubricant mixing time nor dwell time affecting the
tablet strength.
3. Elasticity
E.g., paracetamol, acetyl salicylic acid
• If material is elastic, it rebound when compression force is released.
Methods of Improvement:
• If plastic material, add fragmentable excipient e.g., Lactose.
• If sticky material By change in salt form, By using high excipient ratio, By wet
massing, By addition of Mg-stearate.
16
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Density
The ratio of mass to volume is known as density.
Density = Mass (gms.)/ Volume (ml.)
• Types of density:
• True density usually explains about packability and behavior of the powder when
used in binary mixtures at various proportions.
• Bulk density: Unlike true density this parameter measures the density of powder bed
taking the volume of closed pores into account.
• Bulk density: It’s also called the apparent bulk density of a powder and is expressed
in terms of g/cm3. It is calculated by the formula:
• In case of capsule, helps to select the size of capsule for filling the active principle
based on dose.
17
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Porosity
• Porosity: its synonym is void fraction and its measurement of void spaces or empty
spaces of a powder bed.
• This parameter plays a significant role in deciding the powder behavior, selection of
composition of final formulation, the selection of various unit operations that may be
needed for developing the final product.
• The porosity also decides upon various parameters like selection of granulation method,
hardness of formulate tablets, disintegration of tablets, dissolution rate, thereof.
• Non-Newtonian flow
18
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Newtonian flow
It is a flow in which a direct proportionality exists between shear stress and shear rate. E.g.,
water, simple organic liquid & dilute suspension, Glycerin.
• Instron Capillary Rheometer: Measures viscosity as a function of rate of shear & temp
at a high rate of shear.
19
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
D) Importance
[1] Fluid
• For mixing
• For particle size reduction of disperse system
• Passing though orifice, pouring, packaging in bottle, passing though hypodermic needle.
• Flow though pipe
• Physical stability of disperse system.
[2] Quasisolids
• Spreading and adherence to skin
• Removal from jar
• Capacity of solids to mix with liquid.
• Release of drug from base
[3] Solids
• Flow of powder from hopper and into a die cavity in tableting or in encapsulation.
• Packagability of powder or granules solids.
[4] Processing
• Production capacity of the equipment
• Processing efficiency
Thixotropy:
• In thixotropy apply shear stress convert gel – sol & remove shear stress convert sol –
gel, means gel to sol to gel.
• Application: for stability of suspension
• e.g., conc. Parental suspension containing 40-70% w/v of procaine penicillin G.
20
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
A. Solubility Analysis
To determine pKa.
21
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
• Spectrophotometric method.
Partition Coefficient:
• Partition Coefficient (oil/ water) is a measure of a drug’s lipophilicity and an indication
of its ability to cross cell membranes. It is defined as the ratio of unionized drug
distributed between the organic and aqueous phases at equilibrium.
Heat of solution represents the heat released or absorbed when a mole of solute is
dissolved in a large quantity of solvent.
Typical temperature range should include 5ºC, 25ºC, 37ºC & 50ºC.
Importance: Determination of temperature effect on solubility helps in predicting storage
condition & dosage form designing.
Common ion effect:
To identify a common ion interaction, the Intrinsic Dissolution Rate of HCl salt should
be compared between
Both saline media contains 0.2 M Cl ־which is typically encountered in fluids in vivo.
Dissolution:
The absorption of solid drugs administered orally can be understood by following
flowchart.
23
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Noyes-Whitney equation:
To predict if absorption would be dissolution rate limited or not.
dm/dt = AD(Cs-C) / h
Where, dm/dt = rate of mass transfer / rate of dissolution
D = diffusion coefficient
A= surface area of solute particles
Cs = concentration of solute particles at donor compartment
C= concentration at acceptor site/compartment
h = height of the boundary layer
When dissolution is controlled solely by diffusion the rate of diffusion is directly
proportional to the saturated concentration of the drug in solution under these conditions
the rate constant K1 is defined by:
K1 = 0.62 D2/3 v 1/6 w1/2
Where, v is the kinemative viscosity.
w is the angular velocity of a rotating disc of drug.
24
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chemical characteristics
• Oxidation
It is a very common pathway for drug degradation in both liquid & solid formulation.
Analysis of oxidation:
Drug’s sensitivity to oxidation can be examined by exposing it to atmosphere of high
oxygen tension.
Usually, a 40% oxygen atmosphere allows for rapid evaluation.
A shallow layer of drug exposed to a sufficient headspace volume ensures that the
system is not oxygen limited.
Samples are kept in desiccators equipped with three-way stop cocks, which are
alternatively evacuated and flooded with desired atmosphere.
The process is repeated 3 or 4 times to ensure 100% desired atmosphere.
Results may be useful in predicting if an antioxidant is required in the formulation or if
the final product should be packaged under inert atmospheric conditions.
• Photolysis
Mechanism of decomposition:
Electronic configuration of drug overlaps with spectrum of sunlight or any artificial
light, & thereby energy is absorbed by electron & it goes to the excited state.
They are unstable & release the acquired energy & come to the ground state &
decompose the drug.
Photodecomposition pathways:
N-Dealkylation:
25
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Dehalogenation:
Brown.
Decarboxylation in anti-inflammatory agents.
26
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 2
27
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Targeted drug delivery systems (TDDS) involve the administration of the DDS to the
patient, its delivery at the target (pathological) site, release of the active ingredients
in/around the target and avoiding nonspecific toxicity in normal cells.
B- Active Targeting
It involves modifications and functionalization on the drugs or drug carriers afford them
affinity towards specific receptors/markers on cells, tissues, or organs.
Factors such as the disease, the intended target organ, and a larger presence of targetable
components on the target organ/cell (e.g., transferrin receptors in tumor) than in normal
cells are taken into consideration while deciding on the targeting moiety to be attached to
the therapeutic substances.
28
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The approach can also combine different external stimuli, for example, ultrasound
and magnetic field, for enhanced targeting and efficiency. E.g. the use of magnetic
nanoparticles (MNP) as imaging agents for magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic drug
targeting and hyperthermia treatment can be used.
-nontoxic nature,
-ability to be functionalized with different targeting coatings
-and can encapsulate drugs in reasonable quantity.
Ultrasound has been used for contrast imaging and drug delivery because
ultrasound can cause reversible disruptions in the intravascular endothelial layers creating
pores for the drug to enter the extracellular space of the target tissue. This occurrence was
also observed with blood–brain barrier/blood–tumor
29
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
30
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The advantage with such a system is a single enzyme at the target site can activate
multiple prodrugs and increase the load at the target site.
But, these systems usually do not deliver drugs at effective levels at the retina which
lies in the posterior parts of the eye due to drug loss due to washing off by tears,
metabolism by the anterior segment enzymes and impermeability of the corneal
epithelium. Hence, as a route for targeted delivery to the retina, topical administration
does not suit well.
31
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The intravitreal injection is uncomfortable for the patient and frequent dosing is
associated with high probabilities of injection associated infections and retinal
detachment.
Examples
1- The use of intravitreal implants can give a sustained delivery for a longer period as
compared to the injections; up to 6 months. Such a delivery system is especially
beneficial to patients with chronic eye disorders.
32
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The general routes of reaching the colon are via the oral delivery or the rectal delivery.
Using the rectal mode of administration is usually uncomfortable for the patient and can
often result in irregular dose distribution.
Conversely, using regular oral modes of delivery can degrade the drugs by acid actions
in the stomach and alkaline and enzyme activity in the small intestine. Hence, for
appropriate colon-specific delivery targeted systems should be utilized.
Types of CDDs are pH-dependent, time-dependent, and microflor enzyme dependent
systems.
Disadvantages
-It is possible that the pH-dependent system may survive the passage through the stomach
but not the small intestine. The time-dependent system usually depends on the natural
time for food and drug to passage through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which can be
irregular in the diseased states.
For example, CDDS that depended on pH and microbes to deliver the drugs consisted
of a traditional tablet core containing lactulose with additional layers of Eudragit E
(acid soluble) and Eudragit L (enteric coat) on top of it, in that order, was developed
to protect the active drug from the acid effects of the stomach (enteric coating), the
alkaline pH of small intestine (acid soluble coating) and deliver to the colon wherein
the lactulose would be degraded by the colon bacteria. The enzymatic degradation of
33
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
the lactulose would produce organic acids lowering the pH locally and dissolve the
acid soluble coat releasing the drugs.
An alternative technique that can be used is to make prodrugs which provide protection
in the upper GIT but undergoes enzymatic degradation in the colon to release the active
drug. For example, glycosidic prodrug of dexamethasone and prednisolone. The
prodrugs were not absorbed in the small intestine as they were hydrophilic thus reaching
the colon intact. Once in the colon, the bacterial glycosidases cleaved the prodrugs to
release the active drugs.
34
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Intracellular Targeting
Once the therapeutics can reach the intended organ/tissue of action, they need to act
either extracellularly or intracellularly.
When the action is supposed to occur in extracellular regions, the task of arriving at the
specific organ/tissue is enough.
Yet when the mechanism of action of the therapeutic substance is on specific proteins,
peptides, enzymes, nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) which are present within the cell, the
TDDS needs to go a step or even two, in case of nuclear targeting, further, to ensure
that the specific drug/gene enter the cell and are in active form once they reach their
intracellular targets.
I- Endocytosis
Endocytosis is a cellular process in which substances are brought into the cell. The
material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds
off inside the cell to form a vesicle containing the ingested material. Endocytosis
includes pinocytosis (cell drinking) and phagocytosis (cell eating). It is a form of active
transport.
It is the process of absorbing molecules by the cells, three ways of which are:
phagocytosis, pinocytosis, and receptor- mediated endocytosis (RME).
The early endosomes are characterized by mildly acidic pH. The early endosomes
mature into the late endosomes that also have mildly acidic pH (5.5) and result in
formation of lysosomes after final sorting of the internalized material. Lysosomes are
acidic and contain hydrolytic enzymes that degrade the material within.
An acidic pH-sensitive system will, on entry into the endosomes, disintegrate to release
35
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
If the drug is internalized by endocytosis, it is possible to initiate its release into the
cytoplasm via endosome-disruption.
36
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are short peptides that facilitate cellular intake and
uptake of molecules ranging from nanosize particles to small chemical compounds to
large fragments of DNA.
They enter the cells and directly release the payload. Multiple disease and disorders
find their pathology to involve the role of mitochondria. Consequently, drugs and
nucleic acids with actions on mitochondria are useful to target the mitochondria after
entering the cytoplasm.
Targeting peptides can be used for cell penetration and mitochondrial targeting to
benefit patients of cancer.
Gene therapy usually requires that the nucleic acids be delivered into the nucleus where
the nuclear membrane forms an additional barrier. The usual approaches to gene
therapy use viral-mediated as well as nonviral (e.g., liposomes) gene delivery.
37
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 3
38
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Drug delivery is the process of transportation of a therapeutic agent into the body with
appropriate pharmacokinetics, thereby creating the desired action.
Nanocarriers are simply colloidal nanoparticles widely used for the transportation of a
therapeutic agent or any other substances to a target site. The size of the nanocarriers
lies between 1 and less than1000 nanometer (nm) in diameter
39
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are colloidal carriers of nanoscopic size (50– 1000
nm), made up of solid lipids (high melting fat matrix) that are emerged in 1991.
Lipid and surfactant/stabilizer are the key components used to fabricate SLNs along
with co-surfactant, preservatives, cryoprotectant, and charge modifiers.
By reducing the interfacial tension between the aqueous environment and the
hydrophobic surface of the lipid core, surfactants help in stabilizing the SLN
structure.
40
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Recently, the solid lipid nanocarrier can be used to incorporate ionic and
hydrophilic anticancer drugs along with the lipophilic drug.
This nanocarrier can be used for drug delivery through topical application,
parenteral and oral administration.
2. Liposomes
They are lipid bilayers enclosing an aqueous core which forms a spherical vesicle
that can be used to deliver both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs at target site.
The bilayer can differentiate it into unilamellar vesicle (one bilayer) or
multilamellar vesicle (more than one bilayer).
This vesicle serves as an agent to transport biologically active molecules at the
specific site.
However, these molecules have short half-life period in the systemic circulation.
Overcome
Therefore, liposomes can be coated with polymeric molecules like polyethylene glycol
to form PEGylated liposomes to provide high stability and long half-life period in the
blood by escaping from the Reticule Endothelial System elimination producing a
sustained drug release.
42
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
43
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
44
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The major strategies for targeting nanocarriers to the specific site include:
• Active targeting
• Passive targeting
1- Active targeting
The active targeting strategy is based on that small ligand molecules on the surface
of the nanocarriers actively bind to the specific receptor, to be retained at the target
site and actively uptaken by the diseased cells.
This approach is the widely accepted one and has high selectivity in binding the
target site with high affinity.
The binding ligand should have specificity in determining the protein receptors
overexpressed in the diseased cells which are absent in the healthy one.
For example, cancer or tumor cells have overexpressed proteins on their surface.
This active targeting enables increased intracellular uptake of the drug by the
diseased cells.
The targeting ligands include the small molecules, lectins, antibodies, lipoproteins,
peptides, hormones, glycoproteins (transferrin), polysaccharides, low molecular
weight vitamins (folic acid), nucleic acids and growth factors.
The nanocarriers can also be modified to target multiple moieties as they have a
high surface-to-volume ratio.
45
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The active targeting is advantageous over passive targeting as it can reduce multi-
drug resistance.
This is due to the specific receptors that are expressed only in the cancer cells. For
instance, Transferrin receptor in breast cancer cells, and folate receptors in ovarian
or lung cancer cells.
The use of folate ligands has the advantage of its small size with molecular weight
~ 441 kDa than the antibodies with molecular weight ~ 160,000 kDa. The smaller
size molecule penetrates more easily to the distant target site than the larger one.
Active targeting of the endothelial cell is another strategy for bypassing endothelial
barrier and target tumor cells.
2- Passive targeting
Enhanced permeability and retention effect is the basic route for passive targeting.
The deadly disease like cancer leads to leaky vasculature with endothelial cell
dimension many folds (50–70 fold) more than that of the healthy blood vessels.
Therefore, nanocarriers with molecular weight more than 40 kDa can extravasate
through the leaky vasculature of inflamed area or tumor tissue.
Passive targeting of this leaky vasculature can enable the nanocarriers to enter
through the interstitial space in the endothelial barrier enhancing the drug
conjugated nanocarrier to accumulate at the disease site. This effect is known as the
enhanced permeability and retention effect.
This enhanced permeability and retention effect prevents the undesired side effects
by the target-specific accumulation of drug at the diseased site.
The targeting of nanocarrier with low molecular weight drug has the drawback of
diffusing away from the target site and re-entering the blood circulation.
46
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The accumulation of nanocarrier at the target site depends on its charge due to the
functional group and its size. The nanocarriers with hydrophilic surface and size
less than 200 nm are found to have enhanced permeability and retention effect as
their blood circulation time is higher.
Though the enhanced permeability and retention effect has a greater impact on the
passive targeting of tumor cells, this enhanced permeability and retention effect is
not found in every tumor cells. This size dependent enhanced permeability and
retention effect is heterogeneous for different tumor and for different patients.
Enhanced permeability and retention effect is also affected due to the high fluid
pressure and variable endothelial gaps.
Nanocarrier based on passive targeting reached clinical studies and are promising
to be scaled up. For example, reaching the clinical use is DOXIL™ which is
doxorubicin in PEGylated liposome.
47
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
48
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
1-Nanoprecipitation
The key parameters in the fabrication procedure that have great influence on the
nanoprecipitation method are:
Particle sizes of very narrow distribution can be obtained because of the absence of
shearing stress.
This method is used mostly for hydrophobic drug entrapment, but it is also employed
sometimes to incorporate hydrophilic drugs.
49
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Technique:
1- Polymer and drug are dissolved in a water miscible organic solvent, for example,
acetone or methanol.
2- the solution is then added into an aqueous solution which contains a stabilizer in a
drop-wise manner.
3- Through rapid solvent diffusion, the NPs are formed immediately. After that, the
solvents are removed under reduced pressure.
Advantages:
1- Particle size formed by this method is usually around 200 nm, typically smaller than
those produced by other processes.
2- The method can be applied to a wide range of polymers, peptides and amphiphilic
cyclodextrins,
Disadvantages
50
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
1- The method is based on the emulsification of polymer organic solution into a water
phase, followed by organic solvent evaporation.
2- The polymer is first dissolved in a suitable solvent (e.g., ethyl acetate, chloroform,
or methylene chloride).
3- The organic phase is poured into the continuous phase (aqueous phase) in which a
surfactant is dissolved to impart stability to the emulsion.
4- Emulsification is carried out under high-shear force to reduce the size of the emulsion
droplet. This process will largely determine the final particle size.
5- After the formation of emulsification, the system evaporates the organic solvent
under vacuum, which leads to polymer precipitation and nanoparticles formation.
51
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Disadvantages:
Overcome:
ii-The use of a surfactant such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) or poly(vinyl alcohol)
(PVA) would also minimize the coalescence effect and produce smaller nanoparticles.
3- The loading level for hydrophilic drugs, such as proteins and peptides, is generally
poor due to diffusion of the hydrophilic drug into the aqueous phase before the polymer
can solidify to entrap the drug.
52
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Sonication duration for the second step is more critical in determining the final particle
size as compared to that of the first step and surfactant concentration.
Longer sonication time significantly reduces the size of the particles and produces
smaller polydispersity, but this must be balanced against the potential risk of damaging
the drug.
Steps:
3- The dispersed droplets are then diluted by a large amount of water containing a
stabilizer.
4- The diffusion of organic solvent out from the droplets leads to the condensation of the
materials within the droplet and formation of nanoparticles.
53
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Advantages:
1- The solvent extraction process takes places within a few milliseconds, causing a drop in
particle size.
2- In general, the diameter of particles prepared by this method is around 150 nm due to the
fast solvent extraction and the polydispersity is significantly low.
1- One of the key requirements of the emulsion diffusion method is the selection of an
organic phase (oil phase) containing polymer solution which must be partially miscible
in aqueous phase.
2- The most important fabrication step is solvent diffusion, in which the organic phase
diffuses from the oil phase to outer water phase and the formed particles become
hardened.
3- The selection of the surfactants in the outer water phase is also crucial to the successful
fabrication.
54
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Different surfactants can induce particles in different sizes. For example, when DMAB
was used as surfactant for the fabrication of PLGA NPs, smaller particles were
fabricated than the ones prepared using PVA as the surfactant.
Another popular stabilizer for the fabrication of PLGA NPs is amphiphilic D-_-
tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 100 succinate Vitamin E (TPGS) as TPGS has very
high emulsion efficiency. The amount of TPGS used as surfactant usually can be as
low as 0.015% (w/v).
Excessive surfactants are used, the drug loading will decrease due to a strong
interaction between the drugs and surfactants.
Another method to form the mono-dispersed emulsion is using the probe sonicator to
impose high energy in the formed emulsion. The selection of specific sonicator mode,
time and power is essential to the formation of emulsions.
55
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Firstly, the PLGA is dissolved into the organic solutions (oil phase) which are usually
water miscible. Typical solvents are tetrahydrofuran (THF) and acetone.
The aqueous phase consists of the surfactant and saturated solution of electrolyte.
The electrolytes should not be soluble in the organic solvent. Typically, the most used
salts are magnesium chloride hexahydrate with a concentration of 60% (w/w) or
magnesium acetate tetrahydrate which is normally used with a ratio of 1:3 (polymer to
salt).
The oil phase is emulsified in an aqueous phase, under a strong shearing force by a
mechanical stirrer.
The obvious difference between the emulsion diffusion method and salting out method
is that there is no solvent diffusion step for the latter one due to the existence of salts.
To decrease the ionic strength in the electrolyte, the distilled water is added into the
formed O/W emulsion under a magnetic stirrer. At the same time, the hydrophilic
organic solvents migrate from the oil phase to aqueous phase, which results in the
formation of the NPs.
Finally, the salting out agent is eliminated by centrifugation and the samples are
purified.
56
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
57
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
These particle size distribution, zeta potential, nature and degree of crystallinity, surface
morphology, intrastructure, solid state characteristics, in vitro release, and storage
stability.
The size of nanoparticles is an important factor for their physical stability because the
high surface area makes particles tend to aggregate to decrease the high surface energy.
Zeta potential measurements can provide information about the colloidal stability of the
particles as well as shelf life of colloidal dispersions.
The zeta potential of a particle is the overall charge that a particle acquires in a particular
medium.
Measurements of zeta potential are commonly used to predict the stability of colloidal
systems.
If all the particles in dispersion have a large negative or positive zeta potential then
they will tend to repel each other and there will be no tendency to aggregate (flocculate).
58
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
However, if the particles have low zeta potential values, then there will be no force to
prevent the particles flocculating
High values of zeta potential (e.g., greater than ±30 mV) can stabilize the colloidal
dispersion by electrostatic repulsion under given conditions.
Electrostatic repulsion causes the particles to repel each other, thus avoiding
aggregation.
59
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
However, particles with zeta potential near zero under storage conditions may also be
stabilized upon storage. Such stabilization can be achieved by coating the particle with
a hydrophilic polymer (e.g., PEG) to create a physical barrier against aggregation. This
stabilization is known as steric stabilization.
60
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) gives information about the size and shape
of nanoparticles as well as internal structure.
SEM examination is applied using dried samples while TEM can be performed using
nanoparticles dispersions.
61
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
B C
Example of SEM microphotographs of pure drug irregular particles (A) and rod-
shaped uncoated (B) and coated (C) nanoparticles.
A B
62
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Example of SEM microphotographs of pure drug irregular particles (A) and rod-
shaped uncoated (B) and coated (C) nanoparticles.
63
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The broad peak indicates either the amorphous nature, water loss, or thermal
degradation
Example of DSC (left) and XRD (right) curves of crystalline drug (1), amorphous
polymers (II, III), physical mixture (IV) and dried nanoparticles (V,VI).
64
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The entire system is kept at 37 °C under a continuous stirring and the receptor medium
is closed to avoid the evaporation of the dissolution medium.
Samples of the dialysate are taken at various time intervals and assayed for the drug by
HPLC, spectrophotometer or any other convenient method.
The sample volume is replaced with fresh dissolution medium so as the volume of the
receptor compartment remains constant.
65
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
50
40
% drug
released
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (h)
Example of in vitro release curve of pure slightly soluble drug (bottom) coated
nanoparticles with more controlled release (middle) and uncoated nanoparticles
(upper)
The drug is either embedded in the matrix or on the surface, and such a system can show
versatile release or dual release (immediate release with sustained release). Drug
adhered on the surface of nanoparticles will disperse and will show an immediate release
effect, thereafter the matrix can erode or degrade and release the drug in a controlled
manner.
The immediate release provides the initial required therapeutic levels and the gradual
release maintain these levels. Also this dual release can be observed with homogeneous
matrix nanoparticles due to drug diffusion, matrix erosion or degradation.
66
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
6- Storage stability
The stability of the lyophilized selected nanoparticles can be evaluated during the
storage period (3-6 months) at refrigerator (2-8°C) and room (25±1°C) temperatures.
Nanoparticles were examined regarding particle size, EE% and zeta potential monthly
and compared with the initially determined values at the beginning of the study.
Cryoprotectants such as lactose and trehalose can be used to avoid disruption and size
enlargement of the nanoparticles during lyophilization.
Use of solvents with low evaporation temperatures as ethanol or its mixture with water
is recommended during spray drying.
67
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 4
68
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Implants
They are subcutaneously introduced products designed to transmit drugs and
fluids into the blood stream without the repeated insertion of needles. Implants are small
pumps inserted under the skin through small surgical operation under local anesthesia.
69
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Poly (caprolactone) can release the steroids up to one year suppressing ovulation
without any serious adverse effects.
The non-biodegradable polymer is shaped into capsules or rods which are implanted
subdermally.
Advantages:
1- The high efficacy.
2-The duration of action is longer than biodegradable implants.
3- The effects can be terminated by removing the implant.
Disadvantages:
1- They may result in menstrual abnormalities and systemic side effects.
2-They need medical personnel to implant and remove them.
3- The possibility of the implants migration and toxic effects.
Example: Norplant
70
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Programmed drug administration devices (DAD) have been used for terminal cancer
pain management and cancer chemotherapy. The life of the device depends on the capacity
of the power source and the drug delivery rate.
In cancer pain management using DAD with morphine sulfate, pain relief was
excellent without side effects found with oral medication such as respiratory depression,
confusion, and constipation.
For cancer therapy, DAD with programmed delivery of floxuridine was superior to
the constant.
71
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 5
72
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Polymers
Polymers in drug delivery systems can be produced by using natural or synthetic polymers,
which can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
The polymers used in DDS should present a set of properties that make them suitable
materials to interact with the human body so the biodegradability is one of the most
important features.
Biodegradable polymers are particularly attractive for application in DDS since, once
introduced into the human body, they do not require removal and their degradation products
are normal metabolites that can be easily cleared from the body.
73
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Applications of Polymers
1)Polymers in Tableting
Tablet is kind of solid dosage form which is prepare by compressing therapeutically active
ingredient with pharmaceutical excipients.
2)Polymers in Capsule
74
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
4) Polymers in gels
Cross-linked gels are most commonly known as hydrogels.
They are also known as smart polymers because they show different gelling properties
in different environment of water.
Most commonly used hydrogels are poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate), poly
(methacry1ic acid) and poly (acrylamide). In pharmaceutical industries cross-linked gels
are primarily use for local drug delivery of drugs to skin, oral cavity, vagina and rectum.
6) Polymers in ocuserts
Ocusert is use in treatment of eye disorders like glaucoma.
Ocusert is elliptical shape implant having several layers.
Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) is used to prepare pilocarpin ocusert.
75
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
The drug release from progestasart occurs by diffusion polymer act as a rate controlling
membrane for drug release. Polyethylene and poly (ethyleneco-vinyl acetate) are used
in such system.
8) Polymers in nanoparticles
Nanoparticles have size range of 10-1000nm. In nanoparticle drug delivary system
drug is attached, entrapped and dissolve to polymeric matrix.
Polymeric nanoparticles are used for sustain drug delivery system.
Both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable polymers are used. These biodegradable
polymers degrade into nontoxic and biologically active substances.
Example of synthetic biodegradable polymers are poly lactide and poly-ɛ-
caprolactone.
9) Suture synthesis
Both Biodegradable and non-biodegradable polymers are used
76
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Chapter 6
77
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
78
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
A good formulation is a key factor for the success of a biological drug from beginning
to end, throughout the research and drug product development stages. Formulations
for biological molecules must be based on:
1. Understanding of the physical and chemical properties of the molecule itself,
Protein structure, conformation, chemical degradation and aggregation
studies in aqueous solutions at different pH values, temperatures, using
different buffers and in the presence of different ingredients (e.g. ions,
sugars, detergents)
2. An easy administration procedure,
3. Optimal release of the active protein at the administration site,
4. Optimal activity of the molecule at the target site,
5. Minimum side effects
6. Cost-effective manufacture of the formulation.
The complexity of physical and chemical properties influences the stability of the
formulation, as well as the biological activity.
79
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
80
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
81
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
1. Solubility enhancer Proteins, in particular those that are non-glycosylated, may have a
tendency to aggregate and precipitate. Approaches that can be used to enhance solubility
include: Selection of the proper pH and ionic strength conditions, Addition of amino
acids, such as lysine or arginine (used to solubilize tissue plasminogen activator, t-PA),
Addition of surfactants such as sodium dodecylsulfate, to solubilize non-glycosylate,
IL-2 (interleukin-2) can also help to increase the solubility.
5. Osmotic agents
For proteins, the regular rules apply for adjusting the tonicity-of parenteral products.
Saline and mono- or disaccharide solutions are commonly used. These excipients may
not be inert; they may influence protein structural stability. For example, sugars and
polyhydric alcohol can stabilize the protein structure through the principle of
preferential exclusion. These additives enhance the interaction of the solvent (water
structure promoters) with the protein and are themselves excluded from the protein
surface layer; the protein is preferentially hydrated. This phenomenon can be monitored
through an increased thermal stability of the protein.
83
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
6. Lyoprotectants
Substance which protect drugs especially protein during freeze drying process.
Examples are sugars (mannitol, lactose, maltose, maltodextrin, sucrose) and aminoacids
(glycine, histadine, argenine). This is occur by two mechanisms
a. Water replacement theory: good stabilizer serve as a water substitute by
hydrogen bonding to the dried protein.
b. Verification theory : the protein and stabilizer are both amorphous glasses
immobilized together where the stabilizer protect the protein
The stability of protein solutions strongly depends on factors such as pH, ionic
strength, temperature, and the presence of stabilizers.
Maintaining product stability during the various drug product process unit operations
is paramount to our ability to supply safe and efficacious biotech products to patients.
New technologies are helping us ensure that we meet these challenges successfully
the three of the significant technical challenges experienced in drug product
manufacturing, namely
1. Maintaining product stability during frozen storage,
2. Performing visual inspection of drug product vials,
3. Controlling protein particulates.
84
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
85
Advanced drug delivery systems (PT 5211) Level Five Pharm D- Pharmacy Program
Introduction 1
Course specification 2
Chapter 1: Preformulation 12
Chapter 2: Targeted drug delivery systems 27
Chapter 3: Nano-sized drug delivery systems 38
Chapter 4: Implants 68
Chapter 5: Polymers 72
Chapter 6: Biotechnology Therapeutic Products 77
86