Oleic acid based heterolipid synthesis, characterization and application in self-microemulsifying drug delivery system

There is increasing demand for lipids owing to their use in formulating lipid based drug delivery systems of poorly soluble drugs. The present work discusses the synthesis, characterization of oleic acid based heterolipid and its use as oil in the development of self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) for parenteral delivery. Synthesis was carried out by Michael addition of tert-butyl acrylate to 3-amino-1-propanol to obtain di-tert-butyl aminopropanol derivative. Reaction of this di-tert-butyl aminopropanol derivative with oleoyl chloride using p-dimethylaminopyridine as a coupling agent gave the desired heterolipid. It was characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and MS to confirm the structure. It did not exhibit any measurable cytotoxicity, even up to 80 μg/ml concentration. Application in parenteral drug delivery was explored using furosemide (FUR), a BCS class IV drug, as a model. FUR showed three times greater solubility in the heterolipid as compared to oleic acid. SMEDDSs were developed using heterolipid as oily phase, Solutol HS 15® as surfactant and ethanol as a co-surfactant. Developed SMEDDS could form spontaneous microemulsion on addition to various aqueous phases with mean globule size <70 nm without any phase separation or drug precipitation even after 24 h, and exhibited negligible hemolytic potential.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide