Physicochemical Properties of Solid Phospholipid Particles as a Drug Delivery Platform for Improving Oral Absorption of Poorly Soluble Drugs

A novel drug delivery platform, mesoporous phospholipid particle (MPP), is introduced. Its physicochemical properties and ability as a carrier for enhancing oral absorption of poorly soluble drugs are discussed. MPP was prepared through freeze-drying a cyclohexane/t-butyl alcohol solution of phosphatidylcholine. Its basic properties were revealed using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, hygroscopicity measurement, and so on. Fenofibrate was loaded to MPP as a poorly soluble model drug, and effect of MPP on the oral absorption behavior was observed. MPP is spherical in shape with a diameter typically in the range of 10-15 mu m and a wide surface area that exceeds 10 m(2)/g. It has a bilayer structure that may accommodate hydrophobic drugs in the acyl chain region. When fenofibrate was loaded in MPP as a model drug, it existed partially in a crystalline state and improvement in the dissolution behavior was achieved in the presence of a surfactant, because of the formation of mixed micelles composed of phospholipids and surfactants in the dissolution media. MPP greatly improved the oral absorption of fenofibrate compared to that of the crystalline drug and its efficacy was almost equivalent to that of an amorphous drug dispersion. MPP is a promising option for improving the oral absorption of poorly soluble drugs based on the novel mechanism of dissolution improvement.