Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process

Regorafenib is administered orally for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. However, its limited water solubility hinders its clinical efficacy. This study explores the impregnation of regorafenib monohydrate (REG MH) into pullulan (PULL) using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), aiming...

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Main Authors: Ali Sheikhi, Sepideh Hamedi, Gholamhossein Sodeifian, Fariba Razmimanesh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of CO2 Utilization
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212982025000241
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author Ali Sheikhi
Sepideh Hamedi
Gholamhossein Sodeifian
Fariba Razmimanesh
author_facet Ali Sheikhi
Sepideh Hamedi
Gholamhossein Sodeifian
Fariba Razmimanesh
author_sort Ali Sheikhi
collection DOAJ
description Regorafenib is administered orally for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. However, its limited water solubility hinders its clinical efficacy. This study explores the impregnation of regorafenib monohydrate (REG MH) into pullulan (PULL) using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), aiming to promote the oral bioavailability, water solubility and therapeutic efficacy of the drug. Pullulan was first produced by Aureobasidium pullulans. A Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize impregnation factors including temperature (308, 318 and 328 K), pressure (200, 240 and 280 bar) and time (5, 7 and 9 h) on drug loading. The maximum drug loading (0.57 %) was achieved at a temperature of 280 K, pressure of 328 bar and time of 7 h. The highest drug loading of 0.7 % was predicted by BBD under optimal conditions of 328 K, 280 bar, and 9 h. The crystalline peaks for REG MH were lost after incorporation into the pullulan proving the amorphization of the embedded drug. According to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, the melting point belonging to the crystalline drug faded after impregnation into the polymer, implying that the REG MH/PULL formulation converts to a complete amorphous structure. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images indicated the semi-spherical morphology of the REG MH/PULL system. The dissolution rate of the impregnated REG MH in an aqueous medium considerably enhanced to 80 % during 60 h, whereas it reached 18 % for the free drug. The drug release from the polymer matrix is predominantly controlled by the Fickian diffusion mechanism.
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spelling doaj-art-2558d91a498245febdc6b67469c59c202025-02-11T04:34:52ZengElsevierJournal of CO2 Utilization2212-98392025-03-0193103040Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the processAli Sheikhi0Sepideh Hamedi1Gholamhossein Sodeifian2Fariba Razmimanesh3Department of Biorefinery, Faculty of New Technologies Engineering, Zirab Campus, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, IranDepartment of Biorefinery, Faculty of New Technologies Engineering, Zirab Campus, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran; Laboratory of Supercritical Fluids and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran; Modeling and Simulation Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran; Corresponding author at: Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran.Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran; Laboratory of Supercritical Fluids and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, Iran; Modeling and Simulation Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan 87317-53153, IranRegorafenib is administered orally for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. However, its limited water solubility hinders its clinical efficacy. This study explores the impregnation of regorafenib monohydrate (REG MH) into pullulan (PULL) using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), aiming to promote the oral bioavailability, water solubility and therapeutic efficacy of the drug. Pullulan was first produced by Aureobasidium pullulans. A Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize impregnation factors including temperature (308, 318 and 328 K), pressure (200, 240 and 280 bar) and time (5, 7 and 9 h) on drug loading. The maximum drug loading (0.57 %) was achieved at a temperature of 280 K, pressure of 328 bar and time of 7 h. The highest drug loading of 0.7 % was predicted by BBD under optimal conditions of 328 K, 280 bar, and 9 h. The crystalline peaks for REG MH were lost after incorporation into the pullulan proving the amorphization of the embedded drug. According to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, the melting point belonging to the crystalline drug faded after impregnation into the polymer, implying that the REG MH/PULL formulation converts to a complete amorphous structure. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images indicated the semi-spherical morphology of the REG MH/PULL system. The dissolution rate of the impregnated REG MH in an aqueous medium considerably enhanced to 80 % during 60 h, whereas it reached 18 % for the free drug. The drug release from the polymer matrix is predominantly controlled by the Fickian diffusion mechanism.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212982025000241supercritical CO2 impregnationoptimizationpullulan exopolysaccharidepromoted REG dissolution
spellingShingle Ali Sheikhi
Sepideh Hamedi
Gholamhossein Sodeifian
Fariba Razmimanesh
Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
Journal of CO2 Utilization
supercritical CO2 impregnation
optimization
pullulan exopolysaccharide
promoted REG dissolution
title Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
title_full Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
title_fullStr Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
title_full_unstemmed Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
title_short Improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology: Optimization of the process
title_sort improvement of the dissolution of the antineoplastic drug regorafenib through impregnation into pullulan polysaccharide using supercritical fluid technology optimization of the process
topic supercritical CO2 impregnation
optimization
pullulan exopolysaccharide
promoted REG dissolution
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212982025000241
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AT sepidehhamedi improvementofthedissolutionoftheantineoplasticdrugregorafenibthroughimpregnationintopullulanpolysaccharideusingsupercriticalfluidtechnologyoptimizationoftheprocess
AT gholamhosseinsodeifian improvementofthedissolutionoftheantineoplasticdrugregorafenibthroughimpregnationintopullulanpolysaccharideusingsupercriticalfluidtechnologyoptimizationoftheprocess
AT faribarazmimanesh improvementofthedissolutionoftheantineoplasticdrugregorafenibthroughimpregnationintopullulanpolysaccharideusingsupercriticalfluidtechnologyoptimizationoftheprocess