title: Activated carbon as a carrier for amorphous drug delivery: Effect of drug characteristics and carrier wettability.
abstract: Recent research on porous silica materials as drug carriers for amorphous and controlled drug delivery has shown promising results. However, due to contradictory literature reports on toxicity and high costs of production, it is important to explore alternative safe and inexpensive porous carriers. In this study, the potential of activated carbon (AC) as an amorphous drug carrier was investigated using paracetamol (PA) and ibuprofen (IBU) as model drugs. The solution impregnation method was used for drug loading, with loading efficiency determined by UV spectroscopy and drug release kinetics studied using USP II dissolution apparatus. The physical state of the drug in the complex was characterised using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffractions techniques, whilst sites of drug adsorption were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N2adsorption techniques. In addition, the cytotoxicity of AC on human colon carcinoma (Caco-2) cells was assessed using the MTT assay. Results presented here reveal that, for PA/AC and IBU/AC complexes, the saturation solubility of the drug in the loading solvent appears to have an effect on the drug loading efficiency and the physical state of the drug loaded, whilst drug release kinetics were affected by the wettability of the activated carbon particles. Furthermore, activated carbon microparticles exhibited very low cytotoxicity on Caco-2 cells at the concentrations tested (10-800μg/mL). This study, therefore, supports the potential of activated carbon as a carrier for amorphous drug delivery.
authors.affiliation: Aston Pharmacy School, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nikhila
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miriyala
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS), University of Macau, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Defang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Perrie
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ulster University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lowry
authors.affiliation: Aston Pharmacy School, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, United Kingdom. Electronic address: d.j.kirby1@aston.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kirby
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000737:chemistry*; D000327:Adsorption; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning / Q000379:methods; D002244:Carbon; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D065546:Drug Liberation; D006801:Humans; D007052:Ibuprofen / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D017155:Wettability; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D012997:Solvents; D000082:Acetaminophen; D002244:Carbon; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D007052:Ibuprofen
keywords: Activated carbon; Amorphous drug delivery; Ethanol (PubChem CID: 702); Ibuprofen; Ibuprofen (PubChem CID: 3672); Oral drug delivery; Paracetamol; Paracetamol (PubChem CID: 1983); Porous carrier; Sodium dodecyl sulphate (PubChem CID: 3423265)