BETTER WAY TO DELIVER MEDICATIONS
macology it easier Breakthroughs to could deliver soon more in phar- make precise doses of phenylbutazone (“bute”). Researchers at the University of Huddersfield in England have been looking into the potential use of nanoparticles called mesoporous silicas as carriers of equine medications. “Silica has some unique physical properties, such as surface area and pore size, that allow us to increase the solubility of poorly watersoluble drugs such as phenylbutazone when the two are combined,” says Laura Waters, PhD, who noted that the study was done in collaboration with Irish nanomaterials company Glantreo Ltd. Drugs that do not readily dissolve have lower bioavailability and can be difficult to administer, a problem known to any horse owner who has attempted to dissolve a bute tablet in water. The British researchers looked at three different types of mesoporous silicas and measured their effects on the solubility of phenylbutazone. They found that all three dramatic percentage the testing the vent “We first drug to forms predict period. measured 30 dissolved enhancement minutes dissolution,” “exhibited how how in fast of a the fast a sol- in it in would Waters. any drug dissolve “This must is undergo in the vivo,” first be- says step fore so the it can faster work it dissolves in the body, in our system/in vivo then the faster it will work. Also, the more that dissolves the better. Some drugs just don’t dissolve at all, and that can be a big problem. If we can get it all to dissolve in a short space of time then that’s best for drug delivery.” While this particular study was limited to bute, Waters silicas could says mesoporous help enhance the action of many equine medications. “In our work, bute was just an example of a drug that we know has poor solubility to prove that we can potentially salvage a whole range of drugs that cannot be developed further because they have poor solubility. The increased solubility also means that the drug will be more likely to be effective and less needs to be administered, thus reducing the likelihood of side effects. Any drug could in theory be incorporated within a silica system which could improve their performance, reduce the frequency of dosing or reduce side effects.” Mesoporous silicas are not currently being used in human medicine, but Waters says that research is ongoing.
Reference: “Enhancing the dissolution of phenylbutazone using Syloid-based mesoporous silicas for oral equine applications,” Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis, June 2018