A self-emulsifying oil formulation (SEOF) comprised of Tween 80, benzyl alcohol (BA), ethyl oleate (EO), and oleylamine (OA), able to produce positively charged submicron emulsions upon aqueous or buffer dilution, was developed and characterized. The positive charge of the formulation was attributed to the localization of the cationic lipid, OA, at the oil/water interface of the diluted SEOFs. Binary phase diagram analysis of the basic lipophilic system showed that the SEOF elicited progressive inverse phase behavior under continuous aqueous phase dilution. At infinite dilution fine submicron o/w emulsions were formed only when BA concentrations did not exceed 50% in the formulation. The self-emulsification process was not markedly affected by the variation in pH over the entire physiological range. The neurotoxic effects observed in acute toxicity studies with the concentrated emulsion containing 3% BA obtained from the dilution of the SEOF vehicle were attributed to the BA since a simple aqueous solution at the same BA dose caused similar adverse effects. However, no toxic effects were noticed when the dose administered was 30 times the potential dose that could probably be administered to humans. Comparative oral bioavailability studies in young female rats using several different liquid dosage forms of progesterone indicated that of those studied, only the positively charged SEOF could be considered a potential effective dosage form for oral administration of progesterone since it elicited the highest and most satisfactory absorption profile.
The enhanced electrostatic interactions of positively charged droplets with the mucosal surface are mostly responsible for the preferential uptake of CsA from the positively charged droplets as compared to negatively charged droplets irrespective of the experimental conditions used. The increased uptake of the CsA from the negatively charged oil droplets was consistent with the dilution extent, as expected, whereas in the positively charged droplets, an intermediate droplet size range was identified resulting in optimum drug uptake and clearly suggesting that drug uptake was not consistent with either dilution extent or droplet size.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.