Electrospun Gelatin Nanocontainers for Enhanced Biopharmaceutical Performance of Piroxicam: In Vivo and In Vitro Investigations

Lin Zhao, 1 Omer Mustapha, 2 Shumaila Shafique, 2 Talha Jamshaid, 3 Fakhar ud Din, 4 Yasir Mehmood, 5 Khaleeq Anwer, 6 Qurrat ul Ain Yousafi, 7 Talib Hussain, 8 Ikram Ullah Khan, 5 Muhammad Usman Ghori, 9 Yasser Shahzad, 8 Abid Mehmood Yousaf 8 1Department of Rheumatology of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang 453000, People’s Republic of China; 2Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi 74200, Pakistan; 3Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan; 4Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; 5Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan; 6Office of Chief Executive Officer, District Health Authority, Pakpattan 57400, Pakistan; 7Department of Neurosurgery, District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan; 8Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan; 9Department of Pharmacy, School of Applied Science, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UKCorrespondence: Abid Mehmood Yousaf Tel +92-300-477-4147; +92-345-722-0536Email abid.ucp@hotmail.com Email talib.hussain@cuilahore.edu.pkBackground: Piroxicam exhibits low oral bioavailability, due to its meager solubility in water. The intent of this study was to ameliorate the bioavailability of the drug by employing a solubility-enhancing encapsulation technique.Methods: Seven samples were formulated with piroxicam and gelatin using both solvent evaporation and electrospraying together. Evaluation of solubility and release rate in water and assessment of bioavailability in rats were carried out in comparison with piroxicam plain drug powder (PPDP). Other in vitro explorations were accomplished using powder X-ray diffraction analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.Results: All piroxicam-loaded gelatinnanocontainers (PLGNs) enhanced solubility and release of the payload in water. In particular, a PLGN formulation consisting of piroxicam and gelatin at a 1:8 (w:w) ratio presented about 600-fold the drug solubility of that shown by PPDP. Moreover, 85.12%± 10.96% of the payload was released from this formulation in 10 minutes which was significantly higher than that dissolved from PPDP in 10 minutes (11.81%± 5.34%). Drug content, drug loading, and encapsulation efficiency of this formulation were 93.41%± 0.56%, 10.45%± 0.06%, and 66.74%± 6.87%, respectively. The drug loaded in PLGNs existed in the amorphous state, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning–calorimetry analyses, and was more stable when analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis suggested nonexistence of any piroxicam–gelatin interaction in the formulation. In the scanning electron–microscopy image, PLGNs appeared as round, smooth particles, with particle size of < 1,000 nm. Amelioration in bioavailability of piroxicam with the aforementioned PLGN formulation was fourfold that of PPDP.Conclusion: The PLGN formulation fabricated with piroxicam and gelatin at 1:8 (w:w) might be a promising system for enhanced biopharmaceutical performance of the drug.Keywords: aqueous solubility, electrospraying, gelatin encapsulation, nanocontainers, oral bioavailability, piroxicam