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Purpose. The present study describes the crystal structure changes of γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) during the solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids (SEDS) process and its effect on dissolution behaviour of complexed budesonide. Materials and Methods. γ-CD solution (10 mg/ml in 50% ethanol) was pumped together with supercritical carbon dioxide through a coaxial nozzle with or without a model drug, budesonide (3.3 mg/ml). The processing conditions were 100 b and 40, 60 or 80°C. γ-CD powders were characterised before and after vacuum-drying (2-3 days at RT) with XRPD, SEM and NMR. Budesonide/γ-CD complexation was confirmed with DSC and XRPD. The dissolution behaviour of complexed budesonide was determined in aqueous solution (1% γ-CD, 37°C, 100 rpm). Results. During the SEDS process (100 b, 40 and 60°C), γ-CD and budesonide/γ-CD complexes crystallized in a tetragonal channel-type form. The vacuum-drying transformed crystalline γ-CD into amorphous form while the complexes underwent a tetragonal-to-hexagonal phase transition. The increase in the processing temperature decreased the crystallinity of γ-CD. At 80°C, amorphous γ-CD was obtained while the complexes crystallized in a hexagonal channel-type form. The dissolution behaviour of budesonide/γ-CD complexes was dependent on their crystal structure: the tetragonal form dissolved faster than the hexagonal form. Conclusions. The crystal structure of γ-CD and subsequently, the dissolution rate of complexed budesonide, can be modified with the processing conditions.

Freeze-drying is commonly used to stabilize lactic acid bacteria. Many factors have been reported to influence freeze-drying survival, including bacterial species, cell density, lyoprotectant, freezing rate, and other process parameters. Lactobacillus coryniformis Si3 has broad antifungal activity and a potential use as a food and feed biopreservative. This strain is considered more stress sensitive, with a low freeze-drying survival, compared to other commercialized antifungal lactic acid bacterial strains. We used a response surface methodology to evaluate the effects of varying sucrose concentration, cell density and freezing rate on Lb. coryniformis Si3 freeze-drying survival. The water activity of the dry product, as well as selected thermophysical properties of importance for freeze-drying; degree of water crystallization and the glass transition temperature of the maximally freeze concentrated amorphous phase (Tg') were determined. The survival of Lb. coryniformis Si3 varied from less than 6% to over 70% between the different conditions. All the factors studied influenced freeze-drying survival and the most important factor for survival is the freezing rate, with an optimum at 2.8 degrees C/min. We found a co-dependency between freezing rate and formulation ingredients, indicating a complex system and the need to use statistical tools to detect important interactions. The degree of water crystallization decreased and the final water activity increased as a function of sucrose concentration. The degree of water crystallization and Tg' was not affected by the addition of 10(8)-10(10) CFU/mI. At 10(11) CFU/ml, these thermophysical values decreased possibly due to increased amounts of cell-associated unfrozen water.

The aim was to investigate if solid drug/cyclodextrin complexes could be produced in a single-step process with a solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids (SEDS) method. Budesonide and gamma-cyclodextrin (CD) solutions (50% or 99.5% ethanol) were pumped from the same (conventional method) or separate (modified method) containers together with supercritical carbon dioxide through a coaxial nozzle into a particle formation chamber. The pressure was maintained at 100, 150 or 200 bar with a temperature of 40, 60 or 80 degrees C. SEDS-processed powders were characterised with HPLC, DSC and XRPD for budesonide content, complexation and crystallinity. The budesonide dissolution rate was determined in 1% gamma-CD aqueous solution. Solid, white budesonide/gamma-CD complex particles were formed using the conventional and modified SEDS processes. The complexation efficiency was dependent on the processing conditions. For example, with the conventional method (100 bar, 60 C) the yield of the powder was 65 +/- 12% with 0.14 +/- 0.02 mg budesonide/mg powder, corresponding to 1:2 drug:CD molar ratio. The dissolution rate of this complexed budesonide (93 +/- 2% after 15 min) was markedly higher compared to unprocessed micronised budesonide (41 +/- 10%) and SEDS-processed budesonide without CD (61 +/- 3%). As a conclusion, SEDS is a novel method to produce solid drug/CD complexes in a single-step process.

The incidence of many common diseases has increased during the last decades. High fat intake is a risk factor for many diseases. We propose that some of the negative effects of fat are caused by lipid-induced damage of the gastrointestinal epithelium, thus compromising the epithelial function as a barrier for passage of toxic substances and allergenic agents to the circulatory system. Monoglycerides (MGs), phospholipids and fatty acids (FAs) are surface-active molecules that in pharmaceutical studies act as permeability enhancers for hydrophilic drugs with low absorption. Three possible mechanisms were proposed: (a) lipid-induced alterations in intracellular events may cause destabilization of tight junctions between the GI epithelial cells, (b) lipids may destabilize cell membranes, (c) lipids cause intestinal cell damage, which increase the permeability of the GI epithelium. These "side effects" of lipids may partly explain the association between fat intake and disease observed in epidemiological studies.