Enteric coating dissolution

Pancreatic enzyme replacement is the mainstay of gastrointestinal therapy. Most enzyme products are formulated as capsules containing enteric-coated microspheres or microtablets to avoid inactivation of enzymes in the acidic stomach instead, they dissolve in the more alkaline environment of the duodenum. Capsules may be opened and the microbeads swallowed with food, as long as they are not chewed. A powder form is available for patients unable to swallow the capsules or microbeads, but bioavailability is poor. While products may contain similar enzyme ratios, they are not bioequivalent and cannot be substituted. Generic enzyme products generally display poor dissolution and should not be used.5 Table 13-3 lists commonly used enzyme replacement products. 

A drug should always be ingested with a cup of water ( 8 oz) to insure easy transit down the esophagus and to provide fluid for disintegration and dissolution. Whether or not the drug should be taken on an empty stomach (e.g., enteric-coated tablets) or with food will depend upon the specific drug as noted above. 

Garlic supplements - powder tablets or capsules, steam-distilled oil, vegetable oil macerate extract, or extract aged in dilute alcohol - are widely available and are taken by millions. Since the active principle, allicin, is not present in garlic bulb, the supplements rely on the presence of precursor alliin and enzyme alliinase. In tests on 24 commercial brands of enteric-coated tablets, all except one gave low dissolution allicin release 83% of the brands released less than 15% of their potential allicin.78,79 Relevant factors were impaired enzyme activity caused by excipients and slow tablet disintegration. Caveat emptor ... 

Over the years, dissolution testing has expanded beyond ordinary tablets and capsules—first to extended-release and delayed-release (enteric-coated) articles, then to transder-mals, multivitamin and minerals products, and to Class Monographs for non-prescription drug combinations. (Note at the time, sustained-release products were being tested, unofficially, in the NF Rotating Bottle apparatus). 

For some products, e.g., propanolol extended release formulations (USP 27), a modification of the standard method for enteric-coated dosage forms have been introduced to reflect the change from conditions in the stomach to those in the small intestine. This is a step in the right direction, but to achieve dissolution testing that can differentiate between formulations which are robust and those which are not, and especially to be able to predict food effects on the release from... 

Drugs are administrated by intravenous routes or ex-travascular routes including oral, sublingual, subcutaneous, intramuscular, rectal (by enema or suppository), and transdermal. Available dosage forms include suspensions, immediate-release capsules or tablets, sustained-release capsules or tablets, and enteric-coated capsules or tablets that resist dissolution in the acidic pfi of the stomach. 

Figure 5.2 Schematic representation of polymer dissolution and drug release from enteric-coated tablets.

At a pH lower than the pKa of an enteric coating polymer, [HP] Til, is equal to the intrinsic solubility of the nonionized polymer [HP]0. This solubility is often very low for enteric coating polymers, and thus dissolution of the coating layer at a low pH is very slow. At a pH higher than the pKa of the polymer, [HP]T/) is given by... 

Shellac is the oldest known material that has been used as enteric coating material. However, as a natural material, it lacks a crucial quality criterion of more modern polymers (i.e., batch-to-batch reproducibility). Hence, the most commonly used polymers today are the synthetic methacrylate copolymers or semisynthetic derivatives of cellulose. The main structural element of these polymers is an acidic function (either phthalate or methacrylic acid), which is responsible for the pH-dependent dissolution. 

A survey of the German market showed that more than 50% of enteric formulations were coated with methacrylate copolymers, about 40% with cellulose derivatives, 5% with shellac, and 3% with other materials [1], Enteric coating materials (Table 1) are described in various publications [21, 22], In addition to polymers mentioned in Table 1, others are being studied (e.g., to obtain release at lower pH) [23], Polymers with a dissolution at lower pH are intended for the protection of drugs in acidic medium and not for the protection of the gastric mucosa. 

The relative bioavailability of different enteric diclofenac products was investigated with normal and artificially decreased gastric acidity [63], Only one generic product was found to be fully bioequivalent. Comparison with in vitro studies concluded that the general test on enteric-coated tablets according to Ph.Eur. did not detect any difference between the four products. A modified dissolution test without mechanical stress gave an indication on differences in the lag time of the different products. 

The pharmaceutical and biological availability of eight commercial furose-mide preparations was compared including two products with modified release properties [67], an enteric-coated tablet and a sustained-release preparation, in the form of a capsule containing diffusion pellets [28], A correlation between the rate of dissolution of different techniques and the area under the plasma concentration time curve was documented. The sustained-release preparation and the enteric-coated formulation clearly showed different pharmacokinetic behavior compared with conventional tablets. Although the literature mentions the maximal absorption at pH 5.5, the modified release formulations only showed a relative bioavailability of 80%. 

J. Spitael, R. Kinget, Factors affecting the dissolution rate of enteric coatings, Pharm Ind 39 502 (1977). 

S. A. Qureshi, G. Caille, Y. Lacasse, I. J. McGilveray, Pharmacokinetics of two enteric coated ketoprofen products in humans with or without coadministration of omeprazole and comparison with dissolution findings, Pharm Res 11(11) 1669-1672 (1994). 

Typically, coatings (e.g., enteric coatings) are intended to delay the release of medication until the dosage form has passed through the acidic medium of the stomach. In vivo tests for delayed-release drug products are similar to those for extended-release drug products. In vitro dissolution tests for these products should document that they are stable under acidic conditions and that they release the drug only in a neutral medium (e.g., pH 6.8). 

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