Comparison of impact of the different hydrophilic carriers on the properties of piperazine-containing drug

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of a series of nonionic surfactants on the solubility of piperazine-containing drug (meclizine, MZ) in comparison to that of natural cyclodextrins (α-CD and β-CD) and dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin (DM-β-CD). The solubility of the drug was studied in either CDs solutions or nonionic surfactant solutions. Three classes of nonionic surfactants were used namely; polyoxyethylene (POE) sorbitan fatty acid esters (polysorbates), POE fatty acid esters (Myrjs) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) fatty alcohol ethers (Brijs and Eumulgins). The solubility of MZ was increased linearly with the increasing surfactant concentration, indicating that micellar solubilization follows the partition model. It was found that the longer the hydrocarbon chain in a homologous series, the more efficient is the solubilizing power of surfactant. For example, polysorbate 80 (Tween-80) is a more efficient solubilizer than polysorbate 20 (Tween-20), indicating that the drug was incorporated in the core of micelle more than the capsular region of the micelle. On the other hand, in case of POE fatty acid esters, the solubilizing power increased with decreasing polyoxyethylene chain as Myrj 53 was more efficient than Myrj 59. In class of PEO fatty alcohol ethers, the shorter the hydrophilic chain and longer lipophilic chain, the more efficient was the solubilizing capacity. Thus, Brij 58 was more efficient solubilizer than Brij 35 and Eumulgin C1000 was more active than Eumulgin C1500. Comparatively, Eumulgin C1000 had the highest solubilizing power for MZ among the studied PEO fatty alcohol ethers and other groups of surfactants. The solubility action of surfactants toward MZ was increased by raising the temperature of the surfactant solutions from 30 to 45°C. Hydrophilic macromolecules (PEG 1000 and PEG 6000) or cosolvents (glycerol and propylene glycol) have a very slight effect on the solubility of MZ and confirm the predominance of hydrophobic interaction between the drug and nonionic surfactants. A L-type phase solubility diagrams were obtained for the drug with α-, β- and DM-β-CDs showing that the solubility of MZ was enhanced through inclusion complexation. Comparatively, DM-β-CD had the highest solubilizing efficiency for the drug among the investigated CDs, which could be attributed to its larger hydrophobic cavity size.