Spherical granules having core and their production

Abstract: The spherical granules having a core coated with spraying powder containing a drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose, because of their excellent hardness, can be coated further evenly, (e.g. sustained release coating, gastric coating, enteric coating), and at the time the granules are excellent in disintegration.

Description: This invention relates to spherical granules having a core excellent in hardness and disintegration, and to their production. Recently many studies have been made on drug delivery systems; especially as the dosage form for oral administration, granules coated with various coating agents, i.e. so-called coating granules have been used increasingly frequently, and the granules as they are or capsules produced by filling the granules in capsules have been developed. As reasons for this fact may be mentioned that granules, as compared with tablets biopharmaceutically, reduce individual variations in gastric emptying rate, absorption, etc. and little affected by food (intake). For production of spherical granules, the method wherein after granulation by extrusion the granules are made spherical with a marumerizer is most commonly used, but the granules thus produced are mostly not perfect spheres and the granule size distribution is wide; therefore it is said that uniform coating is so difficult that pharmaceutical preparations for precisely controlled release are difficult to be obtained. On the other hand, recently a centrifugal fluidized-bed coating-granulator (sometimes abbreviated as CF granulator hereinafter) has been developed, and a method to make the granules spherical with this granulator has been tried. In this method the surface of a spherical seed core or core is coated, while being sprayed with water or a solution containing a binder, with a spraying powder containing a drug, and thus spherical granules of high perfect sphere content and narrow granule size distribution are obtained. [See Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 11(8), 1523-1541 (1985).] To produce pharmaceutical preparations for controlled release the surface of the resulting spherical granules is coated with wax or polymer for the purpose of control of release of the drug. The coating is performed generally by fluidized-bed coating. In the initial phase of the process of the fluidized-bed coating, there occur frequently troubles such as breaking and scraping of the spherical granules. These troubles not only damage the drug release control function but also affect greatly the yield in production of granules: thus a method for production of spherical granules excellent in hardness and disintegration has been desired EP-0 200 902 discloses a drug carrier capable of controlling the gastrointestinal transit rate of a pharmaceutical preparation, said drug carrier comprising aqueous polymer and oil. However, this application does not address the problem of producing spherical granule pharmaceutical delivery vehicles possessing excellent hardness and disintegration characteristics. Under these circumstances, the inventors investigated the method for production of spherical granules excellent in hardness and disintegration by using the CF granulator, and have completed this invention. This invention relates to (1) spherical granules having a core coated with spraying powder containing a drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose, and to (2) a method for producing spherical granules having a core characterized in that seed cores are coated, while being sprayed simultaneously with an aqueous binder and with spraying powder containing a drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The content of the hydroxypropoxyl group in the low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose (sometimes abbreviated as L-HPC hereinafter) used in this invention is generally about 4 - 20 %, preferably 5.0 - 16.0 %, more preferably 10.0 - 13.0 %. The mean particle size of the L-HPC may not be more than 200 µm in diameter, preferably not more than 100 µm, more preferably not more than 30µm. The granules have a L-HPC content of 9.5 to 19.9 % (weight/weight) The drugs are not particularly defined as far as they can be used in the fob of granules, including drugs for the central nervous system such as diazepam, idebenone, aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, naproxen, piroxicam, diclofenac, indometacin, sulindac, lorazepam, nitrazepam, phenytoin, acetoaminophen, ethenzamide, and ketoprofen; drugs for the circulatory system such as molsidomine, vinpocetine, propranolol, methyldopa, dipyridamole, furosemide, triamteren, nifedipine, atenolol, spironolactone, metoprolol, pindolol, captopril, and isosorbide nitrate; drugs for the respiratory system such as amlexanox, dextromethorphan, theophylline, pseudoephedrine, salbutamol, and guaifenesin; drugs for the digestive system other than benzimidazole compounds, cimetidine, ranitidine, pancreatin, and 5-aminosalicylic acid; antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents such as cephalexin, cefaclor, cefradine, amoxicillin, pivampicillin, bacampicillin, dicloxacillin, erythromycin, erythromycin stearate, lincomycin, doxycycline, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazole; drugs for metabolic system such as serrapeptase, glibenclamide, and potassium chloride; and vitamin drugs such as vitamin B 1 , vitamin B 2 , vitamin B 6 , vitamin C, and fursultiamine. The said seed cores include Nonpareil produced by coating sucrose (75 weight parts) with corn starch (25 weight parts) according to the per se known method, and spherical seed cores using crystalline cellulose. The drug may be used as the seed core. The particle size of the said seed cores is generally 14-80 mesh. The said aqueous binder includes water, ethanol (concentration: preferably 50% (v/v) or less), and solutions of binders in water or in ethanol; the concentration of the said solutions is generally 0.1 - 80% (w/v), preferably 0.5 - 70% (w/v). The said binders include sucrose, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, methylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, pullulan, and gum arabic, which may be used alone or in combination. The spraying powder containing the drug and L-HPC in this invention may be combined further with powdery additives. The said additives include excipients (e.g. lactose, corn starch, sucrose, crystalline cellulose, light anhydrous silicic acid), binders (e.g. α-starch, methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, pullulan, dextrin, gum arabic), disintegrators (e.g. calcium carboxymethylcellulose, starch), stabilizers (e.g. magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate, L-cystein), and coloring agents (e.g. talc, iron sesquioxide, tar colors). The said spraying powder in this invention are obtained by mixing uniformly the drug, L-HPC, and the additives described above, and the particle size is generally not more than about 100 µm, preferably not more than about 50 µm. The combination ratio of L-HPC to the spraying powder is preferably about 5 - 90% (w/w), more preferably about 10 - 60% (w/w). The combination ratio of the drug to the spraying powder depends upon the kind and the dose of the drug, being about 2 - 70% (w/w), preferably about 5 - 50% (w/w). In the following the method for production of spherical granules having a core of this invention is descrived in detail. The conditions under which seed cores are coated with spraying powder while being sprayed with an aqueous binder are: the ratio of the aqueous binder to the spraying powder of about 1:1 - 1:2 is adequate; the production temperature need not be controlled, being generally room temperature (1 - 30°C). Spherical granules having a core of even size are obtained by sieving after drying. For example, 12 - 32 mesh round sieves are used, and the granules which pass through the 12 mesh sieve but do not pass through the 32 mesh sieve are selected. The spherical granules having a core thus obtained may be coated according to per per se known method for the purpose of taste masking, enteric coating, gastric coating, or prolongation, and/or filled in capsules according to the per se known method. The said coating agents include hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, ethylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, polyoxyethyleneglycol, Tween 80, pluronic F 68, castor oil, cellulose acetate phthalate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate, hydroxymethylcellulose acetate succinate, Eudragit (Röhm Pharma Co., West Germany, acrylate copolymer), carboxymethylethylcellulose, polyvinylacetaldiethylaminoacetate, waxes, and pigments such as talc, titanium oxide, ferric oxide. The spherical granules having a core of this invention, because of their excellent hardness, can be further coated evenly (e.g. sustained release coating, gastric coating, enteric coating), and at the same time the granules are excellent in disintegration. In the following, this invention is illustrated in detail with working examples and experimental examples, which however should not limit this invention. Examples in which the drug is a benzimidazole compound does not form a part of the present invention. Example 1 Nonpareils (20 - 28 mesh), 2250 g, were brought into the CF granulator (CF-360, Freund Industrial Co., Ltd., Japan), and coated, while being sprayed with 2000 ml of hydroxypropylcellulose solution (3% (w/v)) at 25 ml/min, first with the spraying powder 1 and then the spraying powder 2, both of which had been prepared by mixing the ingredients listed below, at the rate of 45 g/min at room temperature with a rotor rotating at 200 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder 1] compound A 450 g magnesium carbonate 450 g sucrose 450 g corn starch 450 g L-HPC 450 g (degree of substitution with hydroxypropoxyl group: 10.0 - 13.0% (w/w), mean particle size: not more than 30 µm. The particles of the same degree of substitution and particle size were used hereinafter.) [spraying powder 2] sucrose 420 g corn starch 360 g L-HPC 360 g Example 2 The granules obtained in Example 1, 3800 g, were brought into the fluidized-bed coator (Okawara Co., Japan), subjected to enteric coating by spraying the enteric coating film solution described below at the rate of 50 ml/min under the controlled conditions of inlet air at 50°C and material temperature at 40°C, to give enteric coated spherical granules having core. The said granules were filled into No.2 hard capsules with a capsule filling machine (Parke-Davis Co., USA), to give capsules. [Enteric coating film solution] Eudragit L30D-55 628 g talc 192 g polyethyleneglycol 6000 64 g titanium oxide 64 g Tween 80 32 g water 4400 ml [composition of the capsules] enteric coated granules 240 mg No.2 hard capsule 65 mg 305 mg (per capsule) Example 3 Nonpareils (20 - 28 mesh), 85 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator(Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with water (50 ml) at 2.5 ml/min, with the spraying powder described below at the rate of 5 g/min with a rotor rotating at 400 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] pancreatin 20 g sucrose 40 g corn starch 20 g L-HPC 20 g Example 4 Nonpareils (24 - 32 mesh), 2 kg, were brought into a CF granulator (CF-360, Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 1% (w/v) hydroxypropylcellulose solution (1000 ml) at 20 ml/min, with the the spraying powder described below at the rate of 40 g/min with a rotor rotating at 200 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] serrapeptase 50 g sucrose 1350 g corn starch 200 g L-HPC 400 g Then the granules thus obtained, 300 g, were brought into the fluidized-bed coator (Okawara Co., Japan), subjected to enteric coating by spraying the enteric coating film solution described below at the rate of 50 ml/min under the controlled conditions of inlet air at 50°C and material temperature at 40°C, to give enteric coated spherical granules having a core. [Enteric coating film solution] hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate 1000 g castor oil 100 g talc 20 g acetone 10000 ml Example 5 Nonpareils (24 - 32 mesh), 85 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator (Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 50% (w/v) solution of sucrose (50 ml) at 5 ml/min, with the spraying powder described below at the rate of 10 g/min with a rotor rotating at 400 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] molsidomine 5 g sucrose 55 g corn starch 20 g L-HPC 20 g Example 6 Nonpareils (24 - 32 mesh), 85 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator (Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 1% (w/v) solution of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (50 ml) at 2.5 ml/min, with the spraying powder described below at the rate of 5 g/min with a rotor rotating at 400 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] idebenone 20 g sucrose 20 g corn starch 25 g L-HPC 35 g Example 7 Spherical seed cores of crystalline cellulose (20 - 32 mesh), 85 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator (Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 1% (w/v) solution of pullulan (50 ml) at 2.5 ml/min, with the the spraying powder described below at the rate of 5 g/min with a rotor rotating at 300 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] amlexanox 25 g hydroxypropylmethylcellulose 20 g corn starch 25 g L-HPC 30 g Example 8 Crystals of vitamin C (42 - 60 mesh), 80 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator(Freud Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 2% (w/v) solution of hydroxypropylcellulose (60 ml) at 2.5 ml/min, with the spraying powder described below at the rate of 5 g/min with a rotor rotating at 400 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12-32 mesh. [spraying powder] cefaclor 50 g sucrose 20 g corn starch 10 g L-HPC 40 g Example 9 Crystals of sucrose (42-60 mesh), 85 g, were brought into a mini CF granulator (Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with water (50 ml) at 2.5 ml/min, with the the spraying powder described below at the rate of 5 g/min with a rotor rotating at 400 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 12 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder] fursultiamine 5 g sucrose 35 g corn starch 30 g L-HPC 30 g Example 10 Nonpareils (20 - 28 mesh), 1650 g, were brought into the CF granulator (CF-360, Freund Co.), and coated, while being sprayed with 1050 ml of hydroxypropylcellulose solution (2% (w/v)) at 30 ml/min, first with the spraying powder 1 and then the spraying powder 2, both of which had been prepared by mixing the ingredients listed below, at the rate of 60 g/min at room temperature with a rotor rotating at 250 rpm, dried under reduced pressure at 40°C for 16 hours, and sieved through round sieves, to give spherical granules having a core of 14 - 32 mesh. [spraying powder 1] compound A 450 g magnesium carbonate 336 g sucrose 297 g corn starch 300 g L-HPC 354 g [spraying powder 2] sucrose 300 g corn starch 246 g L-HPC 246 g Example 11 The granules obtained in Example 10, 3800 g, were brought into the fluidized-bed coator (Okawara Co., Japan), subjected to enteric coating by spraying the enteric coating film solution described below at the rate of 50 ml/min under the controlled conditions of inlet air at 65°C and material temperature at 40°C, to give enteric coated spherical granules having core. To the said granules were added talc and light anhydrous silicic acid, then filled into No. 1 hard capsules with a capsule filling machine (Parke-Davis Co., USA) to give capsules. [Enteric coating film solution] Eudragit L30D-55 2018 g (solid: 605 g) talc 182 g polyethyleneglycol 6000 60 g titanium oxide 60 g Tween 80 27 g water 4230 ml Experimental Example 1 In the method of Example 3 , coating was performed with the spraying powder containing the ingredients listed in Table 1 in place of L-HPC to produce spherical granules having core. The said granules thus obtained (12 - 32 mesh), 5 g, were brought into a 50 ml stainless steel cylinder (50 ml, 32 mm in diameter), shaken in a mill (Spex Co., Spexmill) for 30 minutes, and sieved through a 32 mesh round sieve. The residual amount on the sieve was measured to calculate friability for evaluation of hardness of the granules. In addition, disintegration time was also determined according to the method described in the 11th Japanese Pharmacopoeia. Hardness and Disintegration Time of the Granules Hardness(%) Disintegration time This invention L-HPC 98 1 min Controls crystalline cellulose 87 2 min α-starch 89 not less than 30 min hydroxypropylcellulose 90 10 min hydroxypropylmethylcellulose 89 6 min polyvinylpyrrolidone 85 4 min pullulan 88 1.5 min methylcellulose 84 2 min dextrin 85 1 min gum arabic 82 1 min carboxymethylcellulose 86 2 min These results show evidently that the spherical granules having a core of this invention are excellent in hardness and disintegration.

Claims: Claims for the following Contracting States : AT, BE, CH, LI, DE, FR, GB, IT, LU, NL, SE Spherical granules having a core coated with spraying powder containing a drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose, in which the spherical granules pass through a 12 mesh sieve but do not pass through a 32 mesh sieve; the drug is a drug for circulatory system, respiratory system, metabolic system, digestive system (other than a benzimidazole compound), antibiotic, chemotherapeutic agent or vitamin; the low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose is not more than 200 µm in diameter in mean particle size; and the granules have a low substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose content of 9.5 to 19.9% (weight/weight). Spherical granules according to claim 1, wherein the drug is diazepam, idebenone, aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, naproxen, piroxicam, diclofenac, indometacin, sulindac, lorazepam, nitrazepam, phenytoin, acetoaminophen, ethenzamide, ketoprofen, molsidomine, vinpocetine, propranolol, methyldopa, dipyridamole, furosemide, triamteren, nifedipine, atenolol, spironolactone, metoprolol, pindolol, captopril or isosorbide nitrate, amlexanox, dextromethorphan, theophylline, pseudoephedrine, salbutamol, guaifenesin, cimetidine, ranitidine, pancreatin, 5-aminosalicylic acid, cephalexin, cefaclor, cefradine, amoxicillin, pivampicillin, bacampicillin, dicloxacillin, erythromycin, erythromycin stearate, lincomycin, doxycycline, trimethoprim or sulfamethoxazole, serrapeptase, glibenclamide or potassium chloride, vitamin B 1 , vitamin B 2 , vitamin B 6 , vitamin C or fursultiamine. Spherical granules according to claim 1, wherein the low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose has 4 to 20% of the content of the hydroxypropyl group. Spherical granules according to claim 1, wherein the spraying powder contains magnesium carbonate and/or calcium carbonate. Spherical granules according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with spraying powder containing low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. Spherical granules according to claim 5, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with an enteric coating agent. Spherical granules according to claim 6, wherein the enteric coating agent is acrylate copolymer or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate. A method for producing spherical granules according to claim 1, characterised in that seed cores are coated, while being sprayed simultaneously with an aqueous binder and with spraying powder containing the drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The method according to claim 8, wherein the seed cores are Nonpareils produced by coating 75 weight parts of sucrose with 25 weight parts of corn starch. The method according to claim 8, wherein the spraying powder contains 5 to 90% (w/w) of low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The method according to claim 8, wherein the ratio of the aqueous binder to the spraying powders is 1:1 to 1:2. The method according to claim 8, wherein the spraying powder contains magnesium carbonate and/or calcium carbonate. The method according to any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with spraying powder containing low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The method according to claim 13, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with an enteric coating agent. The method according to claim 14, wherein the enteric coating agent is acrylate copolymer or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate. Claims for the following Contracting States : GR, ES A method for producing spherical granules having a core coated with spraying powder containing a drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose, in which the spherical granules pass through a 12 mesh sieve but do not pass through a 32 mesh sieve; the drug is a drug for the circulatory system, respiratory system, metabolic system, digestive system (other than a benzimidazole compound), antibiotic, chemotherapeutic agent or vitamin; the low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose is not more than 200 µm in diameter in mean particle size; and the granules have a low substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose content of 9.5 to 19.9% (weight/weight), characterised in that seed cores are coated, while being sprayed simultaneously with an aqueous binder and with spraying powder containing the drug and low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. A method according to claim 1, wherein the drug is diazepam, idebenone, aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, naproxen, piroxicam, diclofenac, indometacin, sulindac, lorazepam, nitrazepam, phenytoin, acetoaminophen, ethenzamide, ketoprofen, molsidomine, vinpocetine, propranolol, methyldopa, dipyridamole, furosemide, triamteren, nifedipine, atenolol, spironolactone, metoprolol, pindolol, captopril or isosorbide nitrate, amlexanox, dextromethorphan, theophylline, pseudoephedrine, salbutamol, guaifenesin, cimetidine, ranitidine, pancreatin, 5-aminosalicylic acid, cephalexin, cefaclor, cefradine, amoxicillin, pivampicillin, bacampicillin, dicloxacillin, erythromycin, erythromycin stearate, lincomycin, doxycycline, trimethoprim or sulfamethoxazole, serrapeptase, glibenclamide or potassium chloride, vitamin B 1 , vitamin B 2 , vitamin B 6 , vitamin C or fursultiamine. The method according to claim 1, wherein the seed cores are Nonpareils produced by coating 75 weight parts of sucrose with 25 weight parts of corn starch. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spraying powder contains 5 to 90% (w/w) of low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. A method according to claim 1, wherein the low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose has 4 to 20% of the content of the hydroxypropyl group. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the aqueous binder to the spraying powders is 1:1 to 1:2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the spraying powder contains magnesium carbonate and/or calcium carbonate. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with spraying powder containing low substituted hydroxypropylcellulose. The method according to claim 8, wherein the spherical granules are further coated with an enteric coating agent. The method according to claim 9, wherein the enteric coating agent is acrylate copolymer or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate.

Inventors: HIRAI SHIN-ICHIRO, MAKINO TADASHI, TABATA TETSURO, HIRAI, SHIN-ICHIRO, MAKINO, TADASHI, TABATA, TETSURO
Applicants: TAKEDA CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES LTD, TAKEDA CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A61K9
IPC codes: A61K9