Oral delivery of pharmaceuticals requires that they retain their physical and chemical attributes during transit within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, for the manifestation of desired therapeutic profiles. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are used as carriers to improve the absorption of hydrophobic drugs. In this study, we examine the stability of amphotericin B (AmB) and paracetamol (PAR) SLNs in simulated GI fluids during gastric emptying. On contact with the simulated fluids, the particles increased in size due to ingress of the dissolution media into the particles. Simulated gastric emptying revealed that the formulations had mean sizes <350nm and neutral surface charges, both of which are optimal for intestinal absorption of SLNs. There was ingress of the fluids into the SLNs, followed by diffusion of the dissolved drug, whose rate depended on the solubility of the loaded-drug in the particular medium. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses indicated that drug loading followed the core-shell model and that the AmB SLNs have a more drug-enriched core than the PAR SLNs do. The AmB SLNs are therefore a very suitable carrier of AmB for oral delivery. The stability of the SLNs in the simulated GI media indicates their suitability for oral delivery.
The gastrointestinal (GI) transit behavior of and absorption from an amphotericin B (AmB) solid lipid nanoformulation (SLN) in rats was investigated. We aimed to estimate the gastric emptying time (GET) and cecal arrival time (CAT) of AmB SLN in rats as animal models. From these two parameters, an insight on the absorption window of AmB was ascertained. Three types of SLNs, AmB, paracetamol (PAR), and sulfasalazine (SSZ), were similarly formulated using beeswax/theobroma oil composite as the lipid matrix and characterized with regard to size, viscosity, density, migration propensity within agarose gel, in vitro drug release, morphology, gastrointestinal transit, and in vivo absorption. The GET and CAT were estimated indirectly using marker drugs: PAR and sulfapyridine (SP). All three types of SLNs exhibited identical properties with regard to z-average, viscosity, relative density, and propensity to migrate. PAR was absorbed rapidly from the small intestine following emptying of the SLNs giving the T50E (time for 50% absorption of PAR) to be 1.6 h. SP was absorbed after release and microbial degradation of SSZ from SLN in the colon with a lag time of 2 h post-administration, serving as the estimated cecal arrival time of the SLNs. AmB within SLN was favorably absorbed from the small intestine, albeit slowly.
Amphotericin B (AmB) is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have suggested enhanced drug absorption from solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN). Little is known of the fate of AmB absorption within the gastrointestinal tract, and no gastrointestinal transit study has yet been performed on AmB-containing nano-formulations. We aimed to investigate the effect of food on the gastrointestinal transit properties of an AmB-containing SLN in rats. Three SLNs containing AmB, paracetamol, or sulfasalazine were formulated using cocoa butter and beeswax as lipid matrices and simultaneously administered orally to Sprague-Dawley rats. Paracetamol and sulfapyridine were used as marker drugs for estimating gastric emptying and cecal arrival, respectively. The pharmacokinetic data generated for paracetamol and sulfapyridine were used in estimating the absorption of the AmB SLNs in the small and large intestines, respectively. A delayed rate of AmB absorption was observed in the fed state; however, the extent of absorption was not affected by food. Specifically, the percentages of AmB absorption during the fasted state in the stomach, small intestine, and colon were not significantly different from absorption within the respective regions in the fed state. In both states, however, absorption was highest in the colon and appeared to be a combination of absorption from the small intestine plus absorption proper within the colon. The study suggests that AmB SLN, irrespective of food status, is slowly but predominantly taken up by the lymph, making the small intestine the most favorable site for the delivery of the AmB SLNs.