| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2501498 | International Journal of Pharmaceutics | 2015 | 12 Pages |
Pravastatin sodium (PVS) is a hydrophilic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that is mainly absorbed from duodenum. PVS has a short elimination half-life (1–3 h), suffers from instability at gastric pH, extensive hepatic first-pass metabolism and low absolute bioavailability (18%). The current work aimed to develop enteric surface-coated spanlastic dispersions as controlled-release duodenum-triggered systems able to surmount PVS drawbacks. PVS-loaded spanlastic dispersions were prepared by ethanol-injection method using span® 60. Tween® 60 and Tween® 80 were explored as edge activators. As a novel approach, the fine spanlastic dispersions were surface-coated with an enteric-polymer (Eudragit® L100-55) via freeze-drying. The systems were evaluated, before and after enteric-coating, for particle size, zeta potential, PVS entrapment efficiency (EE%), morphology and PVS release studies. PVS pharmacokinetics from the best achieved system and an aqueous solution were estimated in rats by UPLC–MS/MS. The best achieved enteric surface-coated spanlastic dispersion (E-S6) displayed spherical nanosized vesicles (647.60 nm) possessing negative zeta potential (−6.93 mV), promising EE% (63.22%) and a biphasic drug-release pattern characterized by a retarded-release phase (0.1 N HCl, 2 h) and a controlled-release phase (pH 6.8, 10 h). The higher Cmax, delayed Tmax, prolonged MRT(0−∞), longer elimination t50% and enhanced oral bioavailability unravel E-S6 potential for oral PVS delivery.
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