Nanoporous Silica Entrapped Lipid-Drug Complexes for the Solubilization and Absorption Enhancement of Poorly Soluble Drugs

The study explored the potential of nanoporous silica entrapped lipid-drug complexes (NSCs) to enhance the solubility and bioavailability of dutasteride (DUT), a drug with poor water solubility used for treating conditions like benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia. NSCs were shown to improve DUT's solubility and dissolution rate, with the best results achieved using a mixture of TPGS and GCC lipids. The NSC tablets released 99.6% of DUT within 30 minutes and remained stable after 4 weeks at 60°C. A pharmacokinetic study on 12 male beagle dogs revealed that NSC tablets provided a 1.4-fold increase in bioavailability compared to general tablet formulations, with a relative bioavailability of 103% against Avodart® soft capsules. The study concluded that NSCs are a promising approach for enhancing the solubility and absorption of poorly soluble drugs and could potentially be applied to other lipophilic drugs to improve oral administration and patient compliance.