Developing an in vitro lipolysis model for real-time analysis of drug concentrations during digestion of lipid-based formulations

• Published in: European journal of pharmaceutical sciences 2024-03, Vol.194, p.106681-106681, Article 106681
• Main Authors: Ejskjær, Lotte, O'Dwyer, Patrick J., Ryan, Callum D., Holm, René, Kuentz, Martin, Box, Karl J., Griffin, Brendan T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fenofibrate; In vitro lipolysis; Lipid digestion; Lipid-based formulations
• ISSN: 0928-0987; 1879-0720
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2023.106681

•In-line real-time in vitro lipolysis model.•Investigations of dynamic drug concentrations upon dispersion and digestion of LBFs.•Ready-to-use liquid Palatase® 20,000 L digestion comparable to porcine pancreatin. Understanding the effect of digestion on oral lipid-based drug formulations is a critical step in assessing the impact of the digestive process in the intestine on intraluminal drug concentrations. The classical pH-stat in vitro lipolysis technique has traditionally been applied, however, there is a need to explore the establishment of higher throughput small-scale methods. This study explores the use of alternative lipases with the aim of selecting digestion conditions that permit in-line UV detection for the determination of real-time drug concentrations. A range of immobilised and pre-dissolved lipases were assessed for digestion of lipid-based formulations and compared to digestion with the classical source of lipase, porcine pancreatin. Palatase® 20000 L, a purified liquid lipase, displayed comparable digestion kinetics to porcine pancreatin and drug concentration determined during digestion of a fenofibrate lipid-based formulation were similar between methods. In-line UV analysis using the MicroDISS ProfilerTM demonstrated that drug concentration could be monitored during one hour of dispersion and three hours of digestion for both a medium- and long-chain lipid-based formulations with corresponding results to that obtained from the classical lipolysis method. This method offers opportunities exploring the real-time dynamic drug concentration during dispersion and digestion of lipid-based formulations in a small-scale setup avoiding artifacts as a result of extensive sample preparation. [Display omitted]