title: QbD approach to investigate product and process variabilities for brain targeting liposomes.
abstract: Efficacy of central nervous system-acting medications is limited by its localization and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB); therefore, the crux is in designing delivery systems targeted to cross the BBB. Toward this objective, this study proposed pegylated and glycosylated citalopram hydrobromide (Cit-HBr) liposomes as a delivery approach for brain targeting. The multicomponent liposomes were evaluated for drug encapsulation, vesicular size, size distribution, conductivity and drug release characteristics. Moreover, the interaction among the employed components was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetric and X-ray diffraction analysis. Through a systematic screening design of formulation and process variables in the optimization phase, an improvement of Cit-HBr loading, fine vesicular size with narrow size distribution, greater stability and sustained release features were achieved. The compatibility studies unveiled a significant interaction between Cit-HBr and dicetyl phosphate to control drug encapsulation and release properties. The optimization process showed a minimal range of design space to achieve the preset desirability; more precisely dicetyl phosphate, polyethylene glycol, N-acetyl glucosamine and freeze-thaw cycles of 3%, 5%, 4% and 2 cycles, respectively, were used. Using brain endothelial cell models, the optimized formulations showed an acceptable cell viability with preserved monolayer integrity and an enhanced flux and permeability. Thus, this study has proposed an optimized pegylated and glycosylated vector that is a promising step for brain targeting.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , School of Pharmacy, Howard University , Washington, DC , USA.|b Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy & Health Science, Long Island University , Brookville, NY , USA.
authors.forename: Nahid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kamal
authors.affiliation: b Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy & Health Science, Long Island University , Brookville, NY , USA.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cutie
authors.affiliation: a Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences , School of Pharmacy, Howard University , Washington, DC , USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Habib
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy , Zagazig University , Zagazig , Egypt , and.|d Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy , King Abdulaziz University , Jeddah , KSA.
authors.forename: Ahmed S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Zidan
keywords: Citalopram hydrobromide; glycosylated vectors; optimization; pegylated liposomes; quality by design