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Biomedical subjects

Jonghwi Lee

Publications and source records attributed to Jonghwi Lee.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Critical freezing rate in freeze drying nanocrystal dispersions.

Recent advances in nanoparticle technologies have significantly enhanced the oral and parenteral delivery of poorly water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). However, reports have been limited on the various drying procedures to convert a liquid nanocrystal dispersions into solid dosage forms. The solid dosage form should consist of nanocrystals that can readily reconstitute into their original size upon dissolution in water. Herein, the freeze drying process of nanocrystal dispersions was examined at varying freezing rates (speed of freezing interface). As freezing rate decreases, more particle-particle aggregation developed. A critical freezing rate, below which the dried nanocrystals cannot be re-dispersed, was identified based on the plot of the particle size of reconstituted nanocrystals versus freezing rate. Freeze drying at a freezing rate near the critical value produces dry powders of bimodal particle size distribution after re-dispersion. In addition, API concentration was found to significantly affect the critical freezing rate and therefore the re-dispersibility of dry powders. The concept of critical freezing rate is critical for the development of solid dosage forms of liquid nanocrystal dispersions.

Crystallization↗

Intrinsic adhesion properties of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) to pharmaceutical materials: humidity effect.

Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) is widely used for bioengineering and pharmaceutical applications, and its adhesion characteristics are critical. When used as a binder in pharmaceutical granulation, it covers the resultant granules and governs their surface properties. The intrinsic adhesion forces of PVP toward common hydrophobic (magnesium stearate) and hydrophilic (lactose) pharmaceutical materials have been studied as a function of relative humidity (RH). The effect of RH on adhesion force was more significant for the PVP/hydrophilic material than the PVP/hydrophobic material. Adhesion was lowest between 20 and 40% RH, and it increased at RH above 40% and below 20%. This is likely to be due to the development of capillary and triboelectrification forces, respectively. In a nano-indentation experiment using a silicon tip at room temperature, the PVP surface underwent a glass transition at 70% RH. This result suggests that surface softening contributes to the increased PVP adhesion at RH above 70%. To adjust the adhesion properties of PVP, humidity control should be an essential part of research and development. Effect of humidity on the adhesion forces between PVP and lactose (LT) or magnesium stearate (MS).

Adhesiveness↗

Amphiphilic amino acid copolymers as stabilizers for the preparation of nanocrystal dispersion.

The recent advance of particle size engineering in nanometer ranges has widened the formulation opportunities of relatively water-insoluble drugs. However, the 'nanoformulation' suffers from a lack of systematic understanding about the requirements of polymeric stabilizers. Furthermore, the polymers that can be used for the preparation of nanocrystals are so limited that finding a proper stabilizer for a given formulation is often difficult. In this study, amino acid copolymers whose properties can systematically be tailored are developed, and their morphological and compositional effects are investigated. Copolymers containing lysine (K) as their hydrophilic segments, and phenylalanine (F) or leucine (L) as their hydrophobic segments successfully produce stable nanocrystals (200-300 nm) in water, while copolymers of K and alanine (A) could not generate nanosized particles. Not the morphology but the hydrophobicity of copolymers seems to be a critical parameter in the preparation of drug nanocrystals by wet comminution. The effective stabilization performance of copolymers requires the hydrophobic moiety content to be higher than 15 mol%. Comminution for only 5 min is long enough for nanocrystal preparation, and the crystallinity of drug is found intact after the processing.

Amino Acids↗

Intrinsic adhesion force of lubricants to steel surface.

The intrinsic adhesion forces of lubricants and other pharmaceutical materials to a steel surface were quantitatively compared using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). A steel sphere was attached to the tip of an AFM cantilever, and its adhesion forces to the substrate surfaces of magnesium stearate, sodium stearyl fumarate, lactose, 4-acetamidophenol, and naproxen were measured. Surface roughness varied by an order of magnitude among the materials. However, the results clearly showed that the two lubricants had about half the intrinsic adhesion force as lactose, 4-acetamidophenol, and naproxen. Differences in the intrinsic adhesion forces of the two lubricants were insignificant. The lubricant molecules were unable to cover the steel surface during AFM measurements. Intrinsic adhesion force can slightly be modified by surface treatment and compaction, and its tip-to-tip variation was not greater than its difference between lubricants and other pharmaceutical particles. This study provides a quantitative fundamental basis for understanding adhesion related issues.

Adhesiveness↗

L-ascorbic acid microencapsulated with polyacylglycerol monostearate for milk fortification.

Efficiency was examined of microencapsulating L-ascorbic acid by polyglycerol monostearate (PGMS), and changes in the chemical and sensorial aspects of L-ascorbic acid and/or iron-fortified milk during storage were evaluated. The selected core materials were ferric ammonium sulfate and L-ascorbic acid. The highest efficiency (94.2%) of microencapsulation was found with the ratio of 5:1 as the coating to core material. The release of ascorbic acid from the microcapsules increased sharply from 1.6 to 6.7% up to 5 d of storage. The TBA value was the lowest in the milk sample with added encapsulated iron and unencapsulated L-ascorbic acid up to 5 d of storage in comparison with the other treated samples. A sensory analysis showed that most aspects were not significantly different between the control and fortified samples encapsulated with ascorbic acid after 5 d of storage. The results indicate that L-ascorbic acid microencapsulated with PGMS can be applied to fortify milk and acceptable milk products can be prepared with microencapsulated L-ascorbic acid and iron.

Animals↗

Drug nano- and microparticles processed into solid dosage forms: physical properties.

The use of nanoparticles of relatively insoluble drugs has enormously widened the window of achievable pharmacokinetic performance. For the successful development of this technology, it is essential to understand the characteristics of nanoparticles. In this study, the processability and solid dosage performance of nanoparticulates are compared with those of microparticulates. Nanoparticle suspensions are first prepared by wet comminution in the presence of stabilizers. Spray drying converts them into dried particles from which compacts are prepared. Nanoparticles easily form aggregates during spray drying. These aggregates can be slowly redispersed into nanoparticles in water. Compacts show differences in their internal structure and micromechanical deformations, according to the size of their primary particles. Stress to break and indentation hardness are found to be only slightly higher in nanoparticulate systems.

Administration, Oral↗

The microencapsulated ascorbic acid release in vitro and its effect on iron bioavailability.

The present study was carried out to examine the stability of microencapsulated ascorbic acid in simulated-gastric and intestinal situation in vitro and the effect of microencapsulated ascorbic acid on iron bioavailability. Coating materials used were polyglycerol monostearate (PGMS) and medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT), and core materials were L-ascorbic acid and ferric ammonium sulfate. When ascorbic acid was microencapsulated by MCT, the release of ascorbic acid was 6.3% at pH 5 and 1.32% at pH 2 in simulated-gastric fluids during 60 min. When ascorbic acid was microencapsulated by PGMS, the more ascorbic acid was released in the range of 9.5 to 16.0%. Comparatively, ascorbic acid release increased significantly as 94.7% and 83.8% coated by MCT and PGMS, respectively, for 60 min incubation in simulated-intestinal fluid. In the subsequent study, we tested whether ascorbic acid enhanced the iron bioavailability or not. In results, serum iron content and transferring saturation increased dramatically when subjects consumed milks containing both encapsulated iron and encapsulated ascorbic acid, compared with those when consumed uncapsulated iron or encapsulated iron without ascorbic acid. Therefore, the present data indicated that microencapsulated ascorbic acid with both PGMS and MCT were effective means for fortifying ascorbic acid into milk and for enhancing the iron bioavailability.

Ascorbic Acid↗