• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.339-347
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• 2007

SMEDDS is mixture of oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants, which are emulsified in aqueous media under conditions of gentle agitation and digestive motility that would be encountered in the gastro-intestinal(GI) tract. The main purpose of this work is to prepare self-microemulsifying drug delivery system(SMEDDS) for oral bioavailability enhancement of a poorly water soluble drug, atorvastatin calcium. Solubility of atorvastatin calcium was determined in various vehicles. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identity the efficient self-emulsification region and particle size distributions of the resultant micro emulsions were determined using a laser diffraction sizer. Optimized formulations for in vitro dissolution and bioavailability assessment were $Capryol^{(R)}$ 90(50%), Tetraglycol(16%), and $Cremophor^{(R)}$ EL(32%). The release rate of atorvastatin from SMEDDS was significantly higher than the conventional tablet ($Lipitor^{(R)}$), 2-fold. Our studies illustrated the potential use of SMEDDS for the delivery of hydrophobic compounds, such as atorvastatin calcium by the oral route.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2011

The objective of the study was to prepare self-microeulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) incorporating atorvastatin calcium and evaluate its properties and oral bioavailability. Solubility of atorvastatin in various vehicles was determined. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the good self-emulsification region. The droplet size distributions of the resultant emulsions were determined by dynamic light scattering measurement. The mean droplet size of chosen formulation (20% ethyl oleate, 40% tween-80, 40% Carbitol$^{(R)}$) was $23.4{\pm}1.3$ nm. The SMEDDS incorporating atorvastatin calcium appeared to be associated with better performance in dissolution and pharmacokinetic studies, compared with raw atorvastatin calcium. In dissolution test, the release percentage of atorvastatin from SMEDDS mixture could rapidly reach more than 95% within 3 min. Oral $AUC_{0{\rightarrow}8hr}$ values in SD rats was $1994{\pm}335\;ng{\cdot}hr/mL$, which significantly increased (P<0.05) compared with raw atorvastatin calcium. The SMEDDS formulation was relatively stable when stored at $4^{\circ}C$ during 3 months. Our studies illustrated the potential use of SMEDDS for the delivery of hydrophobic compounds, such as atorvastatin, by the oral route.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to solidify the simvastatin self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) and to improve the encapsulation efficiency of solidified alginate beads using sodium alginate. Typical simvastatin SMEDDS was composed of various oils, surfactants and cosurfactants. Also solidified-alginate beads was prepared by crosslinking liquid emulsion mixtures containing sodium alginate and other excipients (cetylpyridinum chloride (CP-Cl), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, starch and so on). in $CaCl_2$ solution, it has been investigated that the drug release pattern and encapsulation efficiency were varied with the ratio of cationic lipid (CP-Cl). Solidified sodium alginate beads containing simvastatin SMEDDS were redispersed into media without re-aggregation. Oil droplet size of redispersed solidified-beads in media produced smaller than the initial size. The density of beads and drug loading amount were increased with increasing cationic lipid content. These systems have advantages of storage stability and predictability of drug release rate.