Excipients peptides

Phase separation microencapsulation procedures are suitable for entrapping water-soluble agents in lactide/glycolide excipients. Generally, the phase separation process involves coacervation of the polymer from an organic solvent by addition of a nonsolvent such as silicone oil. This process has proven useful for microencapsulation of water-soluble peptides and macromolecules (48). 

Currently, most strategies for buccal delivery of peptide drugs have focused on the application of excipients that would shorten the time of absorption and adhere drugs to a local site on the mucosa, thus decreasing exposure to proteolytic degradation and possible release of drug back into the mouth cavity. This strategy has been utilized in the buccal delivery of insulin, enkephalin, and testosterone [37, 70]. 

We now turn briefly to the problem of peptide stability in the solid state [8] [88], First, we note that most - if not all - reactions discussed in the previous and subsequent sections can also occur in the solid state, although the kinetics and mechanisms of the reactions can be quite different from those observed in solution. Moisture content, the presence of excipients that act as catalysts, and surface phenomena are all factors whose roles are all-but-im-possible to predict. As a result, each formulation poses a new challenge to pharmaceutical scientists. As a rule, solution data cannot be used to predict the shelf-life of solid formulations, and extrapolating from one solid formulation to another can be misleading. 

The physiochemically and biologically characterized proteins and peptides are further formulated and subject to stability studies. The goal of these studies is to develop a unique combination of excipients, solution pH, buffer, and container that will produce an optimum dosage form. Biopharmaceutical formulations should be... 

The degradation rate can be controlled using acidic and basic excipients acidic excipients increase the degradation rates and facilitate a zero-order release rate over a 2-week period (Sparer et al. 1984). Basic additives increase the degradation time of the polymers and create a polymer that degrades specifically at the surface (Heller 1985). By careful choice of the excipient added, the degradation rate can be closely controlled. No experiments have shown the use of these polymers with proteins or peptides. This is not, however, indicative of the fact that these polymers are not compatible with proteins or peptides, but they are probably not the most appropriate polymeric carrier for oral delivery of biomacromolecules. 

LueBen, H.L., De Leeuw, J., Perard, D., et al. (1996). Mucoadhesive polymers in peroral peptide drug delivery. I. Influence of mucoadhesive excipients on the proteolytic activity of intestinal enzymes. Eur. J. Pharmaceut. Sci., 4, 117-128. 

Specific formulation strategies need to be employed for macromolecule compounds. An excellent review of protein stability in aqueous solutions has been published by Chi et al. (92). In addition to solution stability of proteins and peptides, aerosolization may result in significant surface interfacial destabilization of these compounds if no additional stabilization excipients are added. This is due to the fact that protein molecules are also surface active and adsorb at interfaces. The surface tension forces at interfaces perturb protein structure and often result in aggregation (92). Surfactants inhibit interface-induced aggregation by limiting the extent of protein adsorption (92). 

The stability of proteins toward covalent degradation pathways can often depend on the protein s folded state. In each pathway, solvent accessibility and varying degrees of structural freedom of the peptide backbone and/or side chains around the labile residue are required for reactions to take place. Accordingly, stabilization of the protein s folded state (i.e., its compact structure) that minimizes solvent accessibility can lower the reaction rate of some covalent protein modifications, extending the shelf life of the protein product. Therefore, the selection of formulation excipients depends on their direct and indirect influence on the rates of covalent protein degradation. 

Whether chelation (as opposed to covalent bonding) of an active moiety to an excipient qualifies the entire construct as a new chemical entity (NCE) is a moot point. A case in point is polymer platinate. This compound consists of a polymer backbone, hydroxypropylmethacrylamide, linked to a polypeptide spacer. The peptide is in turn linked with an aminomalonate chelating group, which chelates the platinum compound (Fig. 2). 

The permeability of two peptides, P-gp substrate and non P-gp substrate, across caco-2 cells in the presence or absence of polysorbate 80 and cremophor EL, commonly used surfactants in pharmaceutical formulations, was investigated. The permeability of the P-gp substrate peptide across caco-2 cells was enhanced in the presence of polysorbate 80 and cremophor EL, whereas the non-P-gp substrate peptide was not affected by these surfactants [94]. Another commonly used lipidic excipient that has been shown to inhibit P-gp mediated efflux is D-a-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) [95]. The insertion of a known CYP3A4 and P-gp inhibitor to the formulation is another approach to elevate bioavailability. 

In this chapter, we especially focus on the strategies for enhancement of rectal absorption of various drugs including peptides and proteins from rectal mucosa using pharmaceutically useful excipients, cyclodextrins (CyDs), and the other absorption enhancers. 

Many reports have indicated the findings that the effects of CyDs on the rectal delivery of drugs depend markedly on vehicle type (hydrophilic or oleaginous), physicochemical properties of the complexes, and an existence of tertiary excipients such as viscous polymers. The enhancing effects of CyDs on the rectal absorption of lipophilic drugs are generally based on the improvement of the release from vehicles and the dissolution rates in rectal fluids, whereas those of CyDs on the rectal delivery of poorly absorbable drugs such as antibiotics, peptides,... 

Bernkop-Schnurch, A., et al. 2004. Thiomers Potential excipients for non-invasive peptide delivery systems. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 58 253. 

The routine studies for potential mutagenic activity normally performed on chemical drugs do not apply to biopharmaceuticals, as the administration of large amounts of peptides or proteins makes the results difficult to analyze. There is no evidence that these substances interact with DNA or other chromosomal material. In some instances the tests verify the effect of new excipients added to the formulated product. 

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