The effects of lipid chain packing and permeant size and shape on permeability across lipid bilayers have been investigated in gel and liquid crystalline dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers by a combined NMR line-broadening/dynamic light scattering method using seven short-chain monocarboxylic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, and trimethylacetic acid) as permeants. The experimental permeability coefficients are compared with the predictions of a bulk solubility diffusion model in which the bilayer membrane is represented as a slab of bulk hexadecane. Deviations of the observed permeability coefficients (Pm) from the values predicted from solubility diffusion theory (Po) lead to the determination of a correction factor, the permeability decrement f (= Pm/Po), to account for the effects of chain ordering. The natural logarithm of f has been found to correlate linearly with the inverse of the bilayer free surface area with slopes of 25 +/- 2, 36 +/- 3, 45 +/- 8, 32 +/- 12, 33 +/- 4, 49 +/- 12, and 75 +/- 6 A2 for formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, and trimethylacetic acid, respectively. The slope, which measures the sensitivity of the permeability coefficient of a given permeant to bilayer chain packing, exhibits an excellent linear correlation (r = 0.94) with the minimum cross-sectional area of the permeant and a poor correlation (r = 0.59) with molecular volume, suggesting that in the bilayer interior the permeants prefer to move with their long principal axis along the bilayer normal. Based on these studies, a permeability model combining the effects of bilayer chain packing and permeant size and shape on permeability across lipid membranes is developed.

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Hydrogen bonding interactions in amorphous indomethacin and amorphous solid dispersions of indomethacin with poly(vinylpyrrolidone), or PVP, and poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate), or PVP/VA, were investigated quantitatively using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Indomethacin that was (13)C isotopically labeled at the carboxylic acid carbon was used to selectively analyze the carbonyl region of the spectrum. Deconvolution of the carboxylic acid carbon peak revealed that 59% of amorphous indomethacin molecules were hydrogen bonded through carboxylic acid cyclic dimers, 15% were in disordered carboxylic acid chains, 19% were hydrogen bonded through carboxylic acid and amide interactions, and the remaining 7% were free of hydrogen bonds. The standard dimerization enthalpy and entropy of amorphous indomethacin were estimated to be -38 kJ/mol and -91 J/(mol · K), respectively, using polystyrene as the "solvent". Polymers such as PVP and PVP/VA disrupted indomethacin self-interactions and formed hydrogen bonds with the drug. The carboxylic acid dimers were almost completely disrupted with 50% (wt) of PVP or PVP/VA. The fraction of disordered carboxylic acid chains also decreased as the polymer content increased. The solid-state NMR results were compared with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations from the literature. The present work highlights the potential of (13)C solid-state NMR to detect and quantify various hydrogen bonded species in amorphous solid dispersions as well as to serve as an experimental validation of MD simulations.

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Purpose: To explore the independence of functional group contributions to permeability of nonelectrolytes across egg lecithin bilayers. Methods. The transport rates were measured of a series of α-substituted p-methylhippuric acids (-H, -Cl, -OCH 3 , -CN, -OH, -COOH, and -CONH 2 ) across egg lecithin lipid bilayers, in the form of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) at 25ΕC. Intrinsic permeability coefficients (P HA ) were calculated from apparent permeability coefficients (P app ) measured as a function of pH. Group contributions to the free energy of transfer from water into the barrier domain, Δ(ΔGΕ) P,X , were calculated for the substituents and compared to the contributions of these groups when attached to p-toluic acid measured earlier. The Δ(ΔGΕ) P,X values from permeability data were also correlated with Δ(ΔGΕ) PC,X values of partitioning from water into organic solvents to determine the physicochemical selectivity of the barrier domain. Results. P app values in LUVs were found to vary approximately linearly with the fraction of neutral permeant over a pH range of 5.5 to 10.5, suggesting that the transport of the ionized species is negligible over this pH range. The Δ(ΔGΕ) P,X values from the 2 series of compounds appear to be the same, indicating that the functional group contributions are independent. 1,9-Decadiene was found to be the most similar to the chemical environment of the barrier domain. Conclusions. Functional group contributions to transport across egg lecithin bilayers appear to be independent of the compound to which they are attached, even though the thickness of the barrier domain in lipid bilayers is approximately the same as the extended length of the permeant.