International Journal of Pharmaceutics最新文献

Irinotecan is widely used in cancer therapy but is limited by significant toxicities due to systemic and intestinal exposure to its active metabolite, SN-38. To improve its therapeutic profile, irinotecan has been encapsulated in pegylated liposome as a nano-liposomal form (nal-IRI) to modify its pharmacokinetics (PK) and enhance tumor delivery via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. While nal-IRI has shown clinical benefits, the formulation-specific PK and pharmacodynamics (PD) underlying its efficacy and safety remain unknown. This study aimed to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) model to compare the disposition and tumor response of irinotecan and SN-38 following administration of free irinotecan (free-IRI, Camptosar®) and nal-IRI (Onivyde®) in pediatric tumor xenografts. Plasma and tissue PK data (liver, spleen, kidney, brain, lung, and tumor) were collected from healthy and tumor-bearing mice treated with various intravenous doses of both formulations. The model accurately described plasma, tissue, and tumor concentrations of irinotecan and SN-38. Key determinants of disposition included enterohepatic recycling, carboxylesterase-mediated conversion in liver/plasma, and clearance through biliary/metabolic pathways for irinotecan, and biliary/renal routes for SN-38. Nal-IRI exhibited formulation-specific characteristics, including phagocyte-mediated uptake, non-linear plasma clearance, liposomal release and permeability-limited tissue distribution, that are major determinants of nal-IRI disposition. PD modeling indicated intra-tumoral SN-38 exposure was the principal driver of antitumor efficacy. Nal-IRI achieved sustained and higher SN-38 tumor exposure, producing more rapid and durable tumor suppression than free-IRI. This integrated PBPK/PD framework provides mechanistic insights into the enhanced efficacy of nal-IRI and supports its optimized use in irinotecan-based cancer therapy.

The clinical translation of nanomedicine for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is frequently hindered by rapid hepatic clearance mediated by Kupffer cells, which are the predominant phagocytic macrophages in the liver. Conventional stealth strategies, such as PEGylation, protect host cells from phagocytosis; however, their exploitation in drug delivery is limited by the prevailing assumption that immune evasion impairs cellular uptake. Our previous study demonstrated that liposomes functionalized with a CD47-derived self-peptide (SLip) effectively evaded macrophage clearance while retaining strong interactions with non-macrophage liver cells. Leveraging the decoupling of immune evasion and cellular accessibility, we developed a mixed liposomal system (MLip) composed of conventional liposomes (Lip) and SLip at tunable ratios, which enabled modulation of macrophage uptake. By adjusting the Lip:SLip composition, phagocytic efficiency was dose-dependently regulated, as confirmed by phagocytosis index assays. In vivo, MLip exhibited prolonged hepatic retention owing to delayed Kupffer cell clearance and enhanced delivery to hepatocytes and other parenchymal liver cells. To assess its therapeutic potential, silibinin was encapsulated within MLip, and collagenase I was surface-absorbed to promote extracellular matrix remodeling (ECM). Notably, the optimized 1:1 Lip/SLip formulation significantly attenuated liver fibrosis and improved histopathological outcomes in Lep ob/ob mice. This study presents a rational strategy to balance immune evasion with target cell engagement through hybrid liposomal engineering, offering a versatile and effective platform for liver-targeted nanotherapeutics with improved pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy in NAFLD.

We have demonstrated the efficacy of a novel strategy for achieving the prolonged and sustained release of vancomycin as a prophylaxis against surgical site infection (SSI). This strategy uses hydrophobic ion pairing (HIP), joining vancomycin with counter ions and efficiently encapsulating the antibiotic in biodegradable polymer nanospheres. To complete the process, vancomycin-complexes were formed in an aqueous acidic medium, and then they were encapsulated in poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA), polylactic acid (PLA), and polycaprolactone (PCL) nanospheres via the double-emulsion solvent-evaporation method. Our results show that sulfate and sulfonate-based counter ions provide the most effective structure for vancomycin-HIP formation, achieving 95% complexation efficiency at a 1:2 molar ratio. Once formed, the vancomycin-dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (Van-DOSS) complex achieved a 3.7-fold increase in lipophilicity (LogP _{octanol/water}), which significantly improved encapsulation efficiency in comparison to unmodified vancomycin. Encapsulation efficiency increased by 2.7-fold in PLGA (64.7% ± 0.4%) and by 5.5-fold in PLA (46.7 ± 5.9%) and PCL (47.7 ± 6.9%). The Van-HIP nanospheres achieved an in-vitro release of vancomycin that was three-to-five times the minimum inhibitory concentration required for S. aureus over the critical 28-day window indicated for post-operative care after spine surgery. Consequently, these findings support a sustained-release option for antibiotic formulation to improve surgical outcomes.

Tablet mechanical strength is governed by both the intrinsic mechanical properties of the constituent materials and the applied compaction conditions. In this work, we investigated the relationships among tablet tensile strength, tablet brittleness, quantified by the tablet brittleness index, and powder plasticity, quantified by in-die mean yield pressure. Seven common excipients and twelve binary mixtures were selected to represent materials spanning a wide range of mechanical behaviors. For a given material, tablets become more brittle and weaker as porosity increases, following an exponential decay relationship. At a fixed tablet porosity, in-die mean yield pressure shows a positive correlation with tablet brittleness index that follows a power-law function. This relationship enables prediction of tablet brittleness index at a specified porosity directly from in-die mean yield pressure. Because in-die mean yield pressure can be readily obtained from in-die compression data using only small quantities of material, it offers an efficient means to estimate tablet brittleness early in development and provides valuable guidance for designing robust tablets.

Glatiramer acetate (GA) electrostatically complexes with cytosine-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN), forming ∼100 nm cationic nanoparticles that localize this potent immunostimulant to the injection site. We previously reported GA-CpG nanoparticles retained the anti-tumor activity of CpG while mitigating systemic immune-related adverse events. Nonetheless, nanoparticulate systems like polypeptide-oligonucleotide complexes pose challenges with reproducible production, in-use stability, and storage stability, which must be solved before translation for clinical use. In this study, we systematically investigated a microfluidic mixing process to define reproducible production of GA-CpG nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering measurements revealed significantly smaller and more uniform nanoparticles for microfluidic processing versus traditional mixing via pipette. We screened a range of buffer systems to determine the pH and ion types that could maintain colloidal stability and CpG potency. Buffer screening tests indicated that amino acid buffers, particularly glutamic acid, better maintained particle consistency than commonly used parenteral buffers. Finally, formulations of potential lyoprotectants and GA-CpG nanoparticles were developed. Freeze-thaw and freeze-drying experiments were conducted to assess the effects of buffers and lyoprotectants. Formulations with 5% HP-β-CD or trehalose yielded mean particle sizes of less than 127 nm and retained even after storage for 6 months at 40 °C/75% relative humidity. The work on electrostatic complexes reported here may provide valuable guidance to formulators aiming to optimize polypeptide-based oligonucleotide polyplex products for in-use or long-term stability.

The pH-mediated effect of drug ionization on solubility is well-described. However, pH can also indirectly influence solubility by altering the colloidal structures in human intestinal fluids. This study investigates the indirect pH effect on the apparent solubility of 13 uncharged drugs across a pH range of 4.5 to 7.5 in fed-state simulated intestinal fluids (SIF) composed of taurocholate and lecithin, with or without added lipids (monoolein and/or sodium oleate). A pronounced indirect pH effect on drug solubility was observed when oleate was present in the SIF, whereas monoolein had only a minor effect. Below pH 6.5, sodium oleate was converted to oleic acid, resulting in lipid droplet formation that enhanced lipophilic compound solubility in the total sample (lipid phase + micellar phase), while the micellar solubility remained similar to the reference SIF (without oleate). This resulted in an up to 50-fold increase of the ratio total/micellar drug solubility, which correlated well with drug lipophilicity or its combination with total polar surface area (R² ≈ 0.8). At higher pH, a lipid phase was not formed because the ionized sodium oleate partitioned in the micellar phase, where it significantly increased drug solubilization. These findings highlight the importance of considering indirect pH effects in solubility assessments by tuning simulated intestinal fluids composition to better reflect in vivo reality.

Continuous Direct Compression via Mini-Batch Blending (CDC via MBB) is gaining traction as an innovative manufacturing technology in the pharmaceutical industry. According to the Roche design, mini-batches (MBs) are sequentially fed and blended, remaining separate until they come into contact with one another in the hopper above the tablet press after the first diversion point. Material tracking is crucial for understanding how unexpected disturbances propagate through a CDC via MBB line. While tracking is straightforward for separate MBs, assessing the residence time distribution (RTD) in the tablet press becomes necessary after the first diversion point. In this study, a methodological framework is presented where a RTD was characterized experimentally using a tracer (tartaric acid) step change, transmission Raman spectroscopy and in-silico modelling using Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations. The experimental results indicated intermixing between adjacent MBs. The RTD-based simulations enabled the quantification of intermixing, revealing that the produced tablet consisted of a blend of multiple MBs at any given time during the characterization of the tablet press. Further simulations based on the corroborated RTD enabled testing of the sampling and disturbance management strategies. The RTD models were used to compare conservative and smart material diversion strategies. It was established that the smart strategy significantly reduced the amount of non-conforming material after minor disturbances. Understanding the process dynamics based on the RTD characterization of the tablet press allows for the development of sampling and material diversion strategies during the CDC via MBB drug product process development. Insights from this work can be applied to other tablet press variants as discussed in Part 2 of this study.

Background: Lysosomes are markedly altered in tumor cells, exhibiting increased number and size, enhanced acidification, elevated cathepsin activity, and remodeled ion channel composition. These adaptations confer heightened degradative capacity and metabolic plasticity, supporting tumor survival, progression, and therapeutic resistance. Beyond their classical catabolic role, lysosomes function as central hubs for nutrient sensing, stress adaptation, and transcriptional regulation, making lysosomal integrity an emerging vulnerability in cancer therapy.

Aim: This review aims to elucidate the therapeutic potential of inducing lysosomal collapse as an anticancer strategy, with a particular focus on recent nanotherapeutic approaches designed to precisely disrupt lysosomal function.

Methods: This study systematically summarizes current knowledge on lysosomal structure and function in tumor cells and analyzes preclinical studies that exploit lysosomal destabilization for cancer treatment. Nanotherapeutic strategies targeting lysosomes are categorized according to their underlying mechanisms, including gas generation-mediated blasting, osmotic swelling, fiber-induced expansion, oxidative membrane damage, and direct phospholipid bilayer disruption. For each strategy, the design rationale, mechanistic basis, and representative experimental outcomes are critically evaluated.

Results: Accumulating evidence demonstrates that controlled lysosomal membrane permeabilization or rupture can effectively induce tumor cell death, reverse drug resistance, suppress metastasis, and alleviate immune evasion. Nanotherapeutic platforms enable spatially and temporally precise lysosomal disruption, enhancing antitumor efficacy while minimizing off-target toxicity. Comparative analysis reveals distinct advantages and limitations among different lysosome-targeting strategies, underscoring the importance of rational nanomaterial design.

Conclusions: These advances establish lysosomes as central regulators of tumor biology and promising therapeutic "death triggers". Lysosome-targeted nanotherapeutics represent a powerful and versatile approach for overcoming major barriers in cancer treatment, offering new opportunities for precise, effective, and mechanism-driven anticancer interventions.