Development of Acetaminophen Nanosuspension for improved solubility

Introduction:
Acetaminophen (PCM), also known as paracetamol, belongs to the category of
COX-2 selective inhibitors. The drug is usually taken for its analgesic and antipyretic activity. Fever results from elevated levels of prostaglandin synthesis. The
prostaglandins indirectly act on the central nervous system thereby decreasing the
bodys overall heat loss with simultaneous increase in heat gain. PCM acts by
inhibition of cyclooxygenase and results in reduction of elevated levels of
prostaglandins synthesis. Moreover, it produces analgesia by increasing the pain
threshold (Eandi et al., 1984).

PCM is commonly available as over-the counter

medication in various dosage forms such as solutions, suspensions, tablets and

capsules. However, therapeutically PCM has very low aqueous solubility which
affects its in-vivo performance, specifically bioavailability (40%). The usual dose
administered is 500mg-1g, of which almost 80% is excreted unchanged by kidney.
Hence, high doses are required to be administered which can be fatal. Therefore
the present delivery system predisposes to liver toxicity (Farre et al., 2008; Biazar
et al., 2010).
Various approaches have been tried to improve the solubility profile of PCM such
as formation of beta-cyclodextrins (Tasic et al., 1992), size reduction by
mechanical activation (Biazar et al., 2009), use of water soluble excipients such as
lactose, potassium/ sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and tartaric acid (Shaw et
al., 2005), solid dispersion technique (Soni et al., 2012; Sheng Qi et al., 2008) and
use of poly(-caprolactone) layered silicate nanocomposites loaded with PCM
(Campbell et al., 2009). It has been reported that the low solubility of a drug is best
improved by the use of nanoparticles. The nanosize ranges of the formulations
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decrease the particle size and as a consequence the surface-to-volume ratio also
increases. This results in better solubility and dissolution profiles (Kaur et al.,
2012; Ghosh et al., 2011). Nanosuspensions are recent and novel delivery systems
in which pure drug nanoparticles (10-1000nm) are suspended in minimum amount
of stabilizers (Zakir et al, 2011; Gao et al., 2012; Kesisoglou and Mitra, 2012).
Since nanosuspensions are produced from drug itself, the drug content approaches
100%. Thus they not only improve solubility but also provide better drug loading
as well as bioavailability (Sun and Yeo, 2012). Previously nanosuspensions of
PCM have been formulated through nanoprecipitation by microfluidic technique
(Aghajani et al., 2013). In the present paper, we have formulated PCM
nanosuspension by nanoedge method i.e. combination of homogenization and
sonication using Tween 80 as stabilizer. The prepared nanosuspension was further
evaluated for saturation solubility and dissolution studies.
Objectives:
To increase the solubility of acetaminophen by preparing nanosuspension
formulation using Tween 80 as a stabilizer.
Methodology:
Materials:
PCM was obtained as a gift sample from Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Tween
80, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate were
purchased from S.D. Chemicals Ltd. Ethanol and Ethylacetate were obtained from
Sigma Chemicals, USA. All other chemicals were of analytical grade.
Methods:
Preparation of Standard Curve:
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Phosphate buffer pH 5.8 was prepared by using 8.5 ml of dipotassium hydrogen

phosphate (1M) and 91.5 ml of dihydrogen potassium phosphate (1M). The
prepared solution was diluted to 1L using distilled water.
Weigh accurately 100mg of PCM, dissolve in buffer solution using sonicator and
make up the volume upto 100ml with the help of pH 5.8 phosphate buffer to make
1000g/ml solution. Prepare a series of dilute solutions from the above stock
solution in 10 volumetric flasks (4,6,8,10,12 g/ml) . Measure the absorbance of
the solutions at 249 nm using UV-Visible spectrophotometer.
Preparation and Optimization of Nanosuspension:
The nanosuspensions were prepared by nanoedge method (Kaur et al., 2010).
Briefly, 500mg of PCM solutions were prepared in 4ml of ethanol and ethyl
acetate (in 1:1 ratio), and poured into 98 ml of various concentrations of Tween 80
solutions and stirred with homogenizer (HG-15D, Wisd Labs) at 500 rpm for
5min. The nanosuspensions were then sonicated (WUC-D10H, Wisd Labs) and
optimized based on particle size, PDI and zeta potential studies. Ethanol in the
formulation was evaporated by keeping under vacuum (25 in.Hg) at room
temperature for 23 h.
Physical Characterization:
Size, polydispersity index and zeta potential of nanocrystals were determined by
dynamic light scattering method (Zetasizer nanoZS, Malvern Instruments Ltd,
Worcestershire, UK) (Tian et al., 2013). The nanosuspension was also viewed
under phase contrast microscope (M317E, Nikon).
Drug Solubility Studies:

Saturation solubility of raw PCM and PCM nanosuspension was determined as

reported by Talekar et al.,2012. In brief, excess amount of PCM nanosuspension
was added into 5 ml Phosphate buffer pH 5.8 and stirred for 48 h at 370.5C. The
suspension was then filtered using 0.1 m membrane filter and analyzed by UVVisible spectrophotometer (UV1700, Schimadzu Japan) at 249nm.
In-vitro dissolution
The in-vitro drug release profile of PCM nanosuspension was studied for 15 min
using USP dissolution apparatus type 2 (Kakran et al., 2012). Samples equivalent
to 3 mg PCM were dispersed in the dissolution medium (900ml of phosphate
buffer pH 5.8). The system was stirred at 100 rpm and maintained at a temperature
of 370.50C. Samples were withdrawn at predetermined time intervals and
replaced with the same volume of fresh dialyzing medium. The withdrawn samples
were filtered by 0.1m membrane filter and analyzed by UV-Visible
spectrophotometer at 249nm.
Stability studies
The effects of temperature on the stability of nanosuspensions were assessed for a
period of 1 week. The nanosuspensions were divided into different batches and
stored at different temperatures (4C, 25C, 40C) and examined for changes in
size, PDI at regular time intervals (Sahu and Das, 2012).

Results and Discussion:

Calibration curve of PCM:
The calibration curve of PCM was plotted and found to be linear (Fig 1) between 4
to 12 g/ml thus following Beer-Lamberts Law. The regression value was found
to be 0.999.
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Fig 1: Calibration curve of PCM

Particle size, PDI, zeta potential:

The PCM nanosuspensions were prepared using different concentrations of Tween
80 (0.1%, 0.2%, 0.25%, and 0.3% w/w) and analyzed for physical parameters. As
shown in Table 1, the minimum concentration of Tween 80 which gave best results
was found to be 0.25%w/w; particle size 32123.16 nm and PDI -310.99. The
next step involved optimization of sonication time on the basis of size and PDI
data. It was observed that the particle size of the formulation decreased
significantly as the sonication time was increased but only up to 6 min (Table 2).
The final size and PDI of the optimized formulation was found to be 19312.54
and 0.249. The zeta potential value of the optimized formulation was found to be
-130.64, indicating good stability of the formulation. It have been suggested that
once nanoparticles begin to form their free energy state increases and they become
thermodynamically unstable. As a result the particles try to decrease the Gibbs
free energy by agglomeration. This phenomenon is prevented by adding suitable
stabilizers such as Tween 80 that improve activation energy (Tian et al, 2013).

Table 1: Optimization of concentration of Tween 80 based on physical parameters.

Concentration

of Particle size (nm)

stabilizer (%w/w)

Zeta

potential PDI

(mV)

0.1%

99088.91

-352.3

0.787

0.2%

56046.51

-341.4

0.444

0.3%

78851.42

-480.79

0.686

0.25%

32123.16

-310.99

0.343

Table 2: Optimization of sonication time based on physical parameters.

Sonication

time Particle size (nm)

(min)

Zeta

potential PDI

(mV)

74245.35

-331.2

0.572

35522.09

-291.1

0.333

19312.54

-130.64

0.249

44432.11

-180.85

0.290

(A)

(B)

Fig 2: Zeta sizer intensity graphs of final nanosuspension optimized formulation for
(A) Particle size and (B) Zeta potential

Fig 3: Photo of nanosuspension formulation (A) before and (B) after sonication.

Drug Solubility:
The solubility of PCM nanosuspension was compared with raw PCM in phosphate
buffer pH 5.8. Since Tween 80 is a surfactant which also has a solubilizing effect
on PCM (Shaw et al., 2005), a physical mixture of PCM and Tween 80 was also
prepared and evaluated. The solubility of PCM in phosphate buffer pH 5.8 with
and without Tween 80 was found to be 8.4 mg/mL and 129 mg/mL respectively,
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Table 3. It was found that the solubility of PCM in nanosuspension increased by up

to 40 times. The significant increase in particle size is attributed to particle size
reduction and improvement in surface area (Hao et al, 2012).
Table 3: Solubility studies of different formulations.

Formulation

Solubility

Raw PCM in phosphate buffer pH 5.8

8.4 mg/mL

PCM nanosuspension

353 mg/mL

PCM and Tween 80 in phosphate buffer 129 mg/mL

pH 5.8

In-vitro dissolution study:

The dissolution profiles of raw PCM, PCM and Tween 80 mixture and PCM
nanosuspensions is shown in Fig2. It is clear that the dissolution of PCM from
nanosuspension was better than raw drug as almost 87% PCM was dissolved
within 10 min as compared to 21%.

Similarly the dissolution profile of PCM

nanosuspension was statistically significant from PCM and Tween 80 solution by a

factor of 2; 62%. The improved dissolution behavior is because of enhanced
solubility and reduced particle sizes (Deng-Guang et al., 2010).

Fig 2: In-vitro dissolution studies of different PCM formulations.

Drug Stability studies:

The stability studies were conducted to determine the shelf-life of PCM
nanosuspension. Since no significant differences in particle size and PDI were
observed at 4C and 25C (Fig 3), it can be inferred that the formulation remained
stable for a period of 1 week at refrigerator and ambient temperatures. However,
the particle size of the nanosuspension increased considerably when stored at 40C,
as the size increased from 193nm to 253nm. Therefore the formulation cannot be
stored at higher temperatures.

Fig 3: Stability studies of PCM nanosuspension with 0.25% Tween 80 at various

temperatures.

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Zakir, F., Sharma, H., Kaur, K., Malik, B., Vaidya, B., Vyas, S.P., 2011.
Nanocrystallization of poorly water soluble drugs for parenteral administration 7,
127-129.
Abstract: Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) is a poor water soluble drug with limited
bioavailability. Size reduction is one of the easiest methods to enhance solubility as
well as dissolution of any drug. In the present paper, we have formulated
acetaminophen nanosuspension using Tween 80 as stabilizer by nanoedge method.
The concentration of Tween 80 and sonication time were optimized on the basis of
particle size, PDI and zeta potential. It was found that nanosuspension with particle
size of 193nm, PDI; 0.249 and zeta potential; -13 mV were formed. The
13

nanosuspension formulation increased the solubility of acetaminophen to 353

mg/mL. Further, almost 99% of drug was dissolved within 60 min as compared to
only 21% for raw acetaminophen. Finally the formulation was evaluated for
stability studies at various temperatures and found to be stable at refrigerated and
ambient temperature conditions.
Keywords: Acetaminophen, nanosuspension, solubility

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