Patent Application: US-201515525526-A

Abstract:
there is provided an assembly and process for its preparation for predicting the permeability of chemical compounds , comprising a donor compartment for adding a composition comprising the compound ; a barrier based on a support and a phospholipid layer adhering to the support ; and an acceptor compartment for accepting the compound upon permeation of the barrier .

Description:
cheap and straightforward production processes that are well known and frequently used in large - scale production for mass products can be used to produce the barriers and permeation devices . the set - up is flexible and is easy to change according to special needs . the barrier layers can be modified according to specific needs as well in terms of properties and composition both of the supports ( foil ; “ membrane ”) as well as the coating materials ( e . g . lipids and excipients ). the technical format of the barrier inserts ( and complete devices ; kits ) can be modified according to experimental set - up preferred , e . g . frantz cell . there are practically no restrictions in size ( diameter ) and shape ( round , elongated etc ). the barriers or even complete devices can be pre - produced in large scale and stored for comparably long time , which makes it possible to ship both the barriers or complete devices . the barriers of the present invention are mechanically more stable and more resistant against excipients than any other of the models . this enables alternative experimental methods to be used . for such permeation experiments only standard lab equipment is needed . there is practically no waiting time ( compared to growing of cells for 3 weeks ). the reproducibility is good ; there is no additional inter - lab variance . the present invention utilizes physiologic lipids in a production process , which is time - and cost effective , and the product is flexible in format , easy to use , and can be adjusted to mimic various biological barriers . moreover , the present invention envisages different lipid / excipient compositions , technical procedures of applying the coat ( by spraying , molding , casting , solid powder layering etc . ), layer thicknesses and adjustment of other processing parameters ( e . g . addition of moisture , solvents , drying conditions , temperature treatment ). these features could of course further strengthen the patentability if some unexpected benefit is achieved thereby . the aim of the present invention is to provide a new flexible and cheaper permeation model that is straightforward to produce , easier to handle and predictive for several passive transport ways . the first part of the invention is the composition and manufacture of the barriers . in this respect standard commercially available foils , such as cellulose , cellophane or cellulose hydrate membranes ( e . g . dialysis tubing ) are used as a support which is coated ( layered ) with a dispersion of excipients and lipids , preferably including physiological lipids . the specific composition of such coat can be varied to mimic certain cell lipid membranes and barriers , e . g . to mimic blood brain barrier , transdermal delivery , ocular delivery etc . according to the drug transport path of interest , the entire barrier may comprise several layers of foils and dispersions . the overall tightness of the barrier in terms of specific permeation and of permeation rate can be adjusted by common processing and manufacturing adjustments , such as different lipid / excipient compositions , technical procedures of applying the coat ( by spraying , molding , casting , solid powder layering etc . ), layer thicknesses and adjustment of other processing parameters ( e . g . addition of moisture , solvents , drying conditions , temperature treatment ). it is an additional advantage that the technology implemented with the present invention is not limited to a special test format or any of those available on the market ; it can not only be used in commercially available frantz cells or well plates , but also in other devices , that may even circumvent the current restrictions in maximum diameter of the permeation barriers , because the barriers are mechanically more stable . since the barriers of the present invention can be produced in almost any size , experimental set - ups can be tailored to special needs , e . g . for automation and in - line measurements . furthermore , the barriers are comparably resistant to chemicals , which means that certain formulations and more concentrated donor or acceptor phases can be tested as well . the second part of the invention is the design of new formats for entire devices ( including holders and compartments for donor and acceptor ) which are preferably made from glass , metal , or plastic material . new designs can easily be developed for special needs . this opens up for the possibility to adjust e . g . volumes and properties of the studied solutions , use of concentrated formulations and excipients , or to simplify handling . the production processes for both the barriers as well as complete devices are flexible and straightforward based on available technologies . it should be noted that embodiments and features described in the context of one of the aspects of the present invention also apply to the other aspects of the invention . all patent and non - patent references cited in the present application , are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . the invention will now be described in further details in the following non - limiting examples . permeability of a hydrophilic marker compound ( calcein ) and a drug compound ( hydrocortisone ) is measured through a barrier according to the present invention . a sheet of cellulose hydrate was prewashed in demineralized water . the sheet was put on a flat surface and sprayed with a 1 % ( m / m ) solution of egg yolk lecithin ( e - 80 , lipoid gmbh , ludwigshafen , germany ) in ethanol . the total amount of phospholipids deposited was 0 . 4 to 0 . 5 mg / cm 2 . once the organic solvent was evaporated , two coated sheets were placed one upon the other , sandwiching the phospholipids . frantz cells with a permeation surface of 1 cm 2 , a maximum volume in the upper compartment of 1 . 8 ml and a fixed volume in the bottom compartment of 8 ml were used . the barrier was placed in between of the donor and the acceptor chamber , and a permeability experiment was performed at 25 ° c . a saturated dispersion of hydrocortisone in phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 4 ) was placed in the 8 ml lower compartment . the barrier was placed in between the lower and upper compartment and at time zero ( start of the experiment ), 1 . 8 ml of phosphate buffer solution ( ph 7 . 4 ) was placed into the upper compartment . every 30 minutes , 0 . 2 ml of the solution in the upper compartment were withdrawn and drug concentration quantified by hplc . the removed volume was replaced with an equal volume of fresh buffer . 8 ml of phosphate buffer solution was placed into the lower compartment . the barrier was placed , and at time zero ( start of the experiment ) 1 . 5 ml of a 10 mm phosphate buffer solution of calcein was placed in the upper compartment . every 60 minutes , 0 . 2 ml of the solution in the lower compartment were withdrawn and calcein concentration quantified by fluorescence spectroscopy . the removed volume was replaced with an equivalent amount of fresh buffer . fig1 shows the comparison between the amounts of hydrocortisone and calcein permeating through the barrier over the time and surface . the permeability coefficient ( p ) calculated for hydrocortisone was 1 . 27 ± 0 . 15 * 10 − 5 cm / sec whereas for calcein was 0 . 12 ± 0 . 01 10 − 5 cm / sec cm / sec , indicating that hydrocortisone is better permeable through the barrier in comparison to calcein . in this example , the permeabilities of three drugs were compared with the permeability of the marker compound calcein through the barrier described in example 1 . similar results have been obtained using s100 . fig2 shows the permeability coefficients of hydrocortisone , nadolol , and caffeine compared with the marker calcein through the barrier of the present invention . these data are in agreement with permeabilities measured in other assays and indeed mimic the corresponding fluxes over biological membranes . since the three compounds cover a representative selection for such assays it is concluded that the barrier of the present invention is very applicable for such measurements . according to the present example , the permeability of a hydrophilic marker compound ( calcein ) and a drug compound ( hydrocortisone ) is measured through a barrier according to the present invention . the integrity of the barrier was measured only by calcein permeability studies as suggested by ( flaten , dhanikula et al . 2006 [ 9 ]). the aim of this example is to evaluate how surfactants , co - solvents would affect the barrier of the present invention . permeability studies were carried out employing surfactants and co - solvents as media , along with the hydrophilic marker calcein , which is used in high concentration to show possible leaks of the barrier . the apparent permeability coefficients ( p app ) were determined and compared to the values in buffer , and to literature on other in - vitro models . for all permeability studies , franz diffusion cells with a surface area of 1 cm 2 , upper chamber nominal volume of 2 ml and lower chamber volume of 8 ml were employed . the donor phase ( upper chamber ) was filled with 1 . 5 ml hydrophilic marker calcein ( 5 mm ) and different surfactants and solvents , whereas the acceptor compartment ( lower chamber ) was filled with 8 ml pbs ( 7 . 4 ± 0 . 05 ). the barrier was placed between the donor and acceptor compartment and the flux ( 3 ) of calcein was measured over time . the permeability studies were carried out over a 5 hours period , and samples of 200 μl were withdrawn from the acceptor chamber every 30 min for the first 2 hours and then every 60 min . the withdrawn sample volume was replaced with an equal amount of fresh pbs at each time point . the samples were analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy employing a bmg fluostar omega 96 plate reader ( wavelength of excitation 485 - 512 nm and emission 520 nm , bmg labthech gmbh , ortemberg , germany ). table 1 shows the permeability of calcein through the barrier in the presence and absence of surfactants and co - solvents . it is visible that the permeation of calcein through the empty barrier support is much faster . specifically , the permeability of calcein is approx . 10 times higher as compared to the barrier of the present invention . this result is expected , since it has been proven that the lipid layer contained in the barrier has a significant retention on the permeability of hydrophilic compounds . results obtained with of the present invention shows that both “ pbs ” and the empty “ barrier support ” have shown low standard deviations ( sd ), respectively 8 % and 6 % sd . since the sd is so low , even small changes in permeability would be considered significantly different . therefor even though the permeability of calcein is in some cases increased , the permeability can still be considered very low when comparing the permeability of calcein in the presence of surfactants , to the “ barrier support ” ( 1 . 65 ± 0 . 1 10 − 5 cm / s ). results from table 1 clearly indicate that none of the surfactants in the given concentrations affects the permeability of calcein enough to imply that the retention properties of the barrier has been compromised . the permeability of calcein through permpeapad ™ ( barrier of the invention ) with 4 % etoh and 10 % dmso were 0 . 12 · 10 − 5 cm / s and 0 . 15 · 10 − 5 cm / s — these results were not significantly different and thus compatible with the barrier of the present invention . both pvpa and pvpa biomimetic [ 10 ] have shown not to be compatible with cremophor ®. the permeability of calcein , through the current barrier with 5 % cremophor ® was 0 . 23 · 10 − 5 cm / s . that is approximately a 2 - fold increase , which was considered significantly different ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) and thus more explorative barrier stability experiments were carried out . since the solutions appear to be more viscous than pbs , ussing chambers were used due to better stirring . preliminary studies have shown that the permeability of drugs , on franz cell and side - by - side diffusion chamber can be compared directly when taking initial concentration ( c 0 ) and surface area ( a ) into consideration ( data not shown ). results obtained for the permeability of calcein through the barrier of the present invention with 5 % cremophor in the ussing chambers was 0 . 12 ± 0 . 01 · 10 − 5 cm / s , which is the same as in “ pbs ”. this concludes that cremophor ® up to 5 % does not affect the present invention . both pvpa and pvpa biomimetic [ 10 ] were not compatible with polysorbat 80 in low concentrations . in both cases , the permeability of calcein was significantly increased , due to polysorbat 80 &# 39 ; s destructive effect on the lipid barriers . however , for the barrier of the present invention permeability was not increased , but decreased . this also indicates that polysorbat 80 does not disrupt the barrier , but instead may interact with calcein . the most interesting observation made was with triton - x , which is often used in cell - based in - vitro models as a positive control in a concentration range of 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 %, destroying the barrier for recovery measurement . studies with pvpa biomimetic ( naderkhani , isaksson et al . 2014 [ 10 ]) have used triton - x in a concentration of 0 . 05 %, as a positive control — showing that pvpa biomimetic lost its integrity . results obtained here show that 20 fold triton - x concentration ( up to 1 %) did not affect the integrity of the barrier . the permeability of calcein through the barrier was unchanged when comparing the “ pbs ” with the presence of triton - x : both resulted in 0 . 12 · 10 − 5 cm / s . results clearly show that the barrier of the present invention can withstand the different surfactants , co - solvents and triton - x listed in fig1 without affecting the functional integrity of the barrier and thereby the permeability of calcein . fassif and fessif are interesting to use as solvents on the donor side , since they mimic the gastrointestinal fluids in both the fed and fasted state . using the bmm in in - vitro studies may therefore give a more representative indication of how the drug might behave in - vivo . bio - mimetic media ( bmm ) solutions , namely fassif , fassif - v2 , fessif and fessif - v2 ( biorelevant inc . london , uk ) were prepared according to information provided by the manufacturer . fassif solution were stored for 2 hours prior to use ( equilibration time ) whereas fassif - v2 and fessif - v2 were stored for 1 h prior to use . permeability studies with the different bmm &# 39 ; s were carried out on two different permeability setups ; fassif and fassif - v2 were employed on the franz cell permeability setup . fessif and fessif - v2 were carried out on the side - by - side diffusion chamber , due to difficulties when employed on the franz cell connected to higher viscosity . when fessif and fessif - v2 were employed on the franz cell setup , some complications occurred . calcein was layered on the top of the acceptor compartment not mixing properly with the rest of the acceptor media . even though there was magnetic stirring in the acceptor chamber , the magnet was too small to mix the media properly . this behavior is connected to the composition of fessif and fessif - v2 , since both contain substantial amounts of sodium taurocholate ( natc ) and lecithin there is bound to be an increased viscosity of the media . fessif and fessif - v2 were therefore employed on the side - by - side diffusion chamber where the magnetic stirring was more vigorous — resulting in an even distribution of calcein in the respective cells . the bmm were used as acceptor media in order to determine if they would affect the integrity of the barrier . they were not employed as donor media , since a micellar interaction with calcein and the excipients of the bmm might occur . this might in consequence affect the permeability of calcein , and it would not be possible to know if the changes in permeability were due to the micellar interaction or the bmm &# 39 ; s effect on the barrier . the barrier of the present example does not distinguish between donor and acceptor side , and the acceptor side was chosen for the bmm . the results obtained from the permeability setups are presented in table 2 . the results show that the permeability values for calcein employing fassif ( 0 . 21 ± 0 . 03 · 10 − 5 cm / s ), fassif - v2 ( 0 . 17 ± 0 . 03 · 10 − 5 cm / s ) and fessif - v2 ( 0 . 23 ± 0 . 05 · 10 − 5 cm / s ) as acceptor media resulted in slightly increased permeability values . despite the slightly increased permeability values , the barrier of the present invention was still considered low , when compared to the “ barrier support ”. i permeability studies carried out in using chamber , due to increased viscosity ref . for compositon of fassif and fessif : jantratid , e ., n . janssen , c . reppas and j . b . dressman ( 2008 ). “ dissolution media simulating conditions in the proximal human gastrointestinal tract : an update .” pharmaceutical research 25 ( 7 ): 1663 - 1676 . however , fessif ( 0 . 53 ± 0 . 09 · 10 − 5 cm / s ) showed to increase permeability of calcein significantly , and thus more explorative barrier functionality stability experiments were carried out . the results obtained from the explorative barrier functionality studies showed that fessif does not affect the barrier itself : after having a 5 hour exposure to fessif and consecutive rinsing , the very same barrier showed a p app for calcein in pbs of 0 . 27 ± 0 . 05 · 10 − 5 cm / s . if fessif should in some way compromise the barrier , the permeability of calcein would be expected to be as high as in the fessif experiment carried out before ( 0 . 53 ± 0 . 09 · 10 − 5 cm / s ) and this is not the case . it is quite clear that it is the fessif itself that increases the permeability of calcein . a possible reason might be the high osmolality of fessif ( 635 ± 10 mosm ) which creates an osmotic pressure difference to the isotonic donor ( 285 ± 5 mosm ). the osmotic pressure difference might lead to an increase in permeability . since we could not understand these data for calcein , further permeability experiments with fessif as acceptor media were carried out with caffeine as a model drug . results showed that the permeability of caffeine though the barrier was unchanged , regardless of the media used in the acceptor chamber . a t - test showed no significant difference ( p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). this indicated that the presence of fessif does not affect the barrier of the present invention nor results in loos of integrity . the effect of fassif on caco - 2 cells has previously been investigated by ( ingels , beck et al . 2004 , fossati , dechaume et al . 2008 [ 12 ]). results concluded that fassif was compatible with caco - 2 cells and could improve the physiological relevance of them . the pvpa model was also investigated in relation to fassif compatibility ( fischer , buckley et al . 2012 [ 11 ]). results showed pupa to be compatible with fassif — an increase in sd was observed , but the pvpa barriers remained intact . there are no recent studies showing pvpa &# 39 ; s compatibility with fassif - v2 and fessif - v2 . the present barrier showed good resistance towards all four bmms . the ( mixed ) micelles that natc / lecithin might form is relevant for passive diffusion of drugs , since it mimics the physiological conditions , and thereby comes more closely to a better ivivc — this is relevant for all in - vitro models and barrier of the present invention . to verify the influence that different lipid composition might have on the biomimetic properties of the barrier described in the present invention , permeability of a series of drug was tested through barriers manufactured with different lipids ( egg yolk lecithin or phosphatidylcholine ). permeability experiments were carried out similarly to example 1 . results reported in fig5 evidence that the changing in lipid composition has a strong influence on the permeability of at least three compounds ( ibuprofen , nadolol and calcein . this experiment is relevant since it demonstrate that the barrier matter of this patent can be easily modified in order to mimic different relevant biological tissues lipid composition ( e . g . intestine , skin , bbb ) and enabling the possibility to have more accurate evaluation of drug permeability . one of the biggest issue for the available in vitro assay is their stability in the presence of additives and extreme acidic ph condition ( mimicking gastric absorption ). in order to evaluate if the barrier described in this patent application own sufficient stability at all ph , permeability of model compound hydrocortisone through the barrier was measured similarly to example 1 , but at different ph of the media ( 1 , 3 , 5 , 8 . 5 and 9 ). fig6 shows that the permeability of hydrocortisone results almost unaffected by the changing of ph . if the barrier would be damaged by aggressive ph , an increasing in drug permeability would be expected . 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( 2006 ) “ development and evaluation of an in vitro method for prediction of human drug absorption . i . assessment of artificial membrane composition .” european journal of pharmaceutical sciences , 27 , 346 - 353 , [ 9 ] flaten , g . e ., a . b . dhanikula , k . luthman and m . brandl ( 2006 ). “ drug permeability across a phospholipid vesicle based barrier : a novel approach for studying passive diffusion .” european journal of pharmaceutical sciences 27 ( 1 ): 80 - 90 . [ 10 ] naderkhani , e ., j . isaksson , a . ryzhakov and g . e . flaten ( 2014 ). “ development of a biomimetic phospholipid vesicle - based permeation assay for the estimation of intestinal drug permeability .” journal of pharmaceutical sciences 103 ( 6 ): 1882 - 1890 . [ 11 ] fischer , s . m ., s . t . buckley , w . kirchmeyer , g . fricker and m . brandl ( 2012 ). “ application of simulated intestinal fluid on the phospholipid vesicle - based drug permeation assay .” international journal of pharmaceutics 422 ( 1 - 2 ): 52 - 58 . [ 12 ] ingels , f ., b . beck , m . oth and p . augustijns ( 2004 ). “ effect of simulated intestinal fluid on drug permeability estimation across caco - 2 monolayers .” international journal of pharmaceutics 274 ( 1 - 2 ): 221 - 232 .