Enhanced drug release through nitrendipine/hydroxypropyl methylcellulose solid dispersion via supercritical antisolvent technique

Abstract

The poor water solubility of nitrendipine (NT) results in low oral bioavailability, which hinders its practical application. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) is a prominent drug carrier that has been applied in the biomedical field due to its significant characteristics, such as large surface area, biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this study, an efficient drug delivery system based on the preparation of NT/HPMC solid dispersion using supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technology was proposed. The effect of different operating parameters such as solvent, host guest ratio, concentration, temperature, and pressure on NT/HPMC was optimized to obtain dispersed particles with maximum solubility. The formed solid dispersion presents non-static spherical particles with a high surface area and small particle size. Importantly, in vitro drug release studies have demonstrated that the dissolution and solubility of NT in solid dispersion are significantly enhanced compared to pure drug. In vitro bioactivity experiments showed that the NT/HPMC solid dispersion has good biocompatibility and antibacterial performance. Thus, this study indicates that solid dispersion prepared using SAS technology are considered a promising drug delivery system.