Calcium carbonate is an abundant mineral with several advantages to be a successful carrier\nto improve oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs, such as praziquantel. Praziquantel is an\nantiparasitic drug classified in group II of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System hence\ncharacterized by high-permeability and low-solubility. Therefore, the dissolution rate is the\nlimiting factor for the gastrointestinal absorption that contributes to the low bioavailability.\nConsequently, the therapeutic dose of the praziquantel must be high and big tablets and capsules are\nrequired, which are difficult to swallow, especially for pediatric and elderly patients. Mixtures of\npraziquantel and calcium carbonate using solid-solid physical mixtures and solid dispersions\nwere prepared and characterized using several techniques (X-ray diffraction differential scanning\ncalorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, laser diffraction, Fourier\ntransform infrared and Raman spectroscopies). Solubility of these formulations evidenced that the\nsolubility of praziquantel-calcium carbonate interaction product increased in physiological media.\nIn vitro dissolution tests showed that the interaction product increased the dissolution rate of the\ndrug in acidic medium. Theoretical models were studied to understand this experimental behavior.\nCytotoxicity and cell cycle studies were performed, showing that praziquantel-calcium carbonate\nphysical mixture and interaction product were biocompatible with the HTC116 cells, because it did\nnot produce a decrease in cell viability or alterations in the cell cycle.
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