Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jun 2016)
Design and optimization of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems for improved bioavailability of cyclovirobuxine D
Abstract
Zhongcheng Ke,1–3 Xuefeng Hou,4 Xiao-bin Jia31Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 2Huangshan University, Huangshan, Anhui, 3Third Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 4Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: The main purpose of this research was to design a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for improving the bioavailability of cyclovirobuxine D as a poorly water-soluble drug.Materials and methods: Solubility trials, emulsifying studies, and pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were used to screen the SNEDDS formulations. The optimized drug-loaded SNEDDS was prepared at a mass ratio of 3:24:38:38 for cyclovirobuxine D, oleic acid, Solutol SH15, and propylene glycol, respectively. The optimized formulation was characterized in terms of physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters compared with marketed cyclovirobuxine D tablets.Results: The optimized cyclovirobuxine-D-loaded SNEDDS was spontaneously dispersed to form a nanoemulsion with a globule size of 64.80±3.58 nm, which exhibited significant improvement of drug solubility, rapid absorption rate, and enhanced area under the curve, together with increased permeation and decreased efflux. Fortunately, there was a nonsignificant cytotoxic effect toward Caco-2 cells. The relative bioavailability of SNEDDS was 200.22% in comparison with market tablets, in rabbits.Conclusion: SNEDDS could be a potential candidate for an oral dosage form of cyclovirobuxine D with improved bioavailability.Keywords: self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery, bioavailability, cyclovirobuxine D