Dissolving the Rocks : Solubility Enhancement of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients using Mesoporous Silica

Poor aqueous solubility is one of the greatest barriers for new drug candidates to enter toxicology studies, let alone clinical trials. This thesis focuses on contributing to solving this problem, evaluating the oral toxicity of mesoporous silica particles, and enhancing the apparent solubility and bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients in vitro and in vivo using mesoporous silica particles. Toxicological studies in rats showed that two types of mesoporous silica particles given by oral administration were well tolerated without showing clinical signs of toxicity. Solubility enhancement, including in vivo bioavailability and in vitro intracellular activity, has been evaluated for selected drug compounds. Mesoporous silica was shown to effectively increase drug solubility by stabilizing the amorphous state of APIs, such as itraconazole (anti-fungal), dasatinib (anti-cancer), atazanavir (anti-HIV) and PA-824 (anti-tuberculosis). Itraconazole was successfully loaded into a variety of porous silica materials showing a distinct improvement in the dissolution properties in comparison to non-porous silica materials (and the free drug). Microporosity in SBA-15 particles has advantages in stabilizing the supersaturation state of dasatinib. Small pore sizes show better confinement of atazanavir, contributing to a higher dissolution of the drug compound. In the in vivo animal studies, NFM-1 loaded with atazanavir shows a four-fold increase in bioavailability compared to free crystalline atazanavir. PA-824 has a higher dissolution rate and solubility after loading into AMS-6 mesoporous particles. The loaded particles show similar antibacterial activity as the free PA-824. This thesis aims at highlighting some of the important factors enabling the selection of adequate mesoporous structures to enhance the pharmacokinetic profile of poorly water-soluble compounds, and preparing the scientific framework for uncovering the effects of drug confinement within mesopores of varying structural properties.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 5: Submitted.