Stabilizing Mechanisms of β-Lactoglobulin in Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Indomethacin
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Stabilizing Mechanisms of β-Lactoglobulin in Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Indomethacin. / Kabedev, Aleksei; Zhuo, Xuezhi; Leng, Donglei; Foderà, Vito; Zhao, Min; Larsson, Per; Bergström, Christel A.S.; Löbmann, Korbinian.
In: Molecular Pharmaceutics, Vol. 19, No. 11, 2022, p. 3922–3933.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Stabilizing Mechanisms of β-Lactoglobulin in Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Indomethacin
AU - Kabedev, Aleksei
AU - Zhuo, Xuezhi
AU - Leng, Donglei
AU - Foderà, Vito
AU - Zhao, Min
AU - Larsson, Per
AU - Bergström, Christel A.S.
AU - Löbmann, Korbinian
N1 - Funding Information: We thank Arla Foods Ingredients Group P/S for providing the samples of Lacprodan and β-lactoglobulin (BLG). X.Z. acknowledges the China Scholarship Council (201908210313) for financial support. This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (2021-02092). The computations/data handling was enabled by resources provided by the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science (UPPMAX). The authors acknowledge financial support from NordForsk for the Nordic University Hub project #85352 (Nordic POP, Modelling).
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Proteins, and in particular whey proteins, have recently been introduced as a promising excipient class for stabilizing amorphous solid dispersions. However, despite the efficacy of the approach, the molecular mechanisms behind the stabilization of the drug in the amorphous form are not yet understood. To investigate these, we used experimental and computational techniques to study the impact of drug loading on the stability of protein-stabilized amorphous formulations. β-Lactoglobulin, a major component of whey, was chosen as a model protein and indomethacin as a model drug. Samples, prepared by either ball milling or spray drying, formed single-phase amorphous solid dispersions with one glass transition temperature at drug loadings lower than 40-50%; however, a second glass transition temperature appeared at drug loadings higher than 40-50%. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we found that a drug-rich phase occurred at a loading of 40-50% and higher, in agreement with the experimental data. The simulations revealed that the mechanisms of the indomethacin stabilization by β-lactoglobulin were a combination of (a) reduced mobility of the drug molecules in the first drug shell and (b) hydrogen-bond networks. These networks, formed mostly by glutamic and aspartic acids, are situated at the β-lactoglobulin surface, and dependent on the drug loading (>40%), propagated into the second and subsequent drug layers. The simulations indicate that the reduced mobility dominates at low (<40%) drug loadings, whereas hydrogen-bond networks dominate at loadings up to 75%. The computer simulation results agreed with the experimental physical stability data, which showed a significant stabilization effect up to a drug fraction of 70% under dry storage. However, under humid conditions, stabilization was only sufficient for drug loadings up to 50%, confirming the detrimental effect of humidity on the stability of protein-stabilized amorphous formulations.
AB - Proteins, and in particular whey proteins, have recently been introduced as a promising excipient class for stabilizing amorphous solid dispersions. However, despite the efficacy of the approach, the molecular mechanisms behind the stabilization of the drug in the amorphous form are not yet understood. To investigate these, we used experimental and computational techniques to study the impact of drug loading on the stability of protein-stabilized amorphous formulations. β-Lactoglobulin, a major component of whey, was chosen as a model protein and indomethacin as a model drug. Samples, prepared by either ball milling or spray drying, formed single-phase amorphous solid dispersions with one glass transition temperature at drug loadings lower than 40-50%; however, a second glass transition temperature appeared at drug loadings higher than 40-50%. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we found that a drug-rich phase occurred at a loading of 40-50% and higher, in agreement with the experimental data. The simulations revealed that the mechanisms of the indomethacin stabilization by β-lactoglobulin were a combination of (a) reduced mobility of the drug molecules in the first drug shell and (b) hydrogen-bond networks. These networks, formed mostly by glutamic and aspartic acids, are situated at the β-lactoglobulin surface, and dependent on the drug loading (>40%), propagated into the second and subsequent drug layers. The simulations indicate that the reduced mobility dominates at low (<40%) drug loadings, whereas hydrogen-bond networks dominate at loadings up to 75%. The computer simulation results agreed with the experimental physical stability data, which showed a significant stabilization effect up to a drug fraction of 70% under dry storage. However, under humid conditions, stabilization was only sufficient for drug loadings up to 50%, confirming the detrimental effect of humidity on the stability of protein-stabilized amorphous formulations.
KW - amorphous solid dispersion
KW - hydrogen bonds
KW - mobility
KW - molecular dynamics simulation
KW - poorly soluble drugs
KW - stability
KW - β-lactoglobulin
U2 - 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00397
DO - 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00397
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 36135343
AN - SCOPUS:85138899329
VL - 19
SP - 3922
EP - 3933
JO - Molecular Pharmaceutics
JF - Molecular Pharmaceutics
SN - 1543-8384
IS - 11
ER -
ID: 324131778