Pickering emulsions as an innovative approach for the oral administration of drugs with low bioavailability and poor stability: application for cannabidiol
Abstract
Pickering emulsions are gaining increasing interest in the field of drug encapsulation and delivery. Unlike conventional emulsions stabilized by surfactants, Pickering emulsions are stabilized by particles. The properties of these particles can be adjusted to meet several needs of pharmaceutical industry. The overall aim of this work is to use Pickering emulsions to develop an oral formulation of cannabidiol (CBD), a promising drug very sensible to oxidation. To prepare our Pickering emulsions, we used protein-polyphenol particles for their anti-oxidative properties and as they are natural reagents with very low ecological impact.
The initial part of this project aimed to prepare and study “white Pickering emulsions” (without CBD). For that, zein – tannic acid (ZTA) particles were first synthetized and characterized (size, zeta potential). Then, aqueous suspensions of these particles were combined with a hydrophobic phase to create Pickering emulsions. Through our emulsification protocol, we successfully obtained Pickering emulsions with different hydrophobic reagents including corn oil, sesame oil, olive oil and medium-chain-triglycerides. Different oil fractions were dispersed and stabilised by these particles, resulting in emulsions with an oil concentration of 50%. These emulsions were characterized regarding droplet size and creaming index. Their physical stability over time was also evaluated and all of them were shown to remain stable for more than one month after preparation. These initial results are very encouraging for the development of flexible formulations that are stable over time.
Parallelly, CBD stability over time was evaluated and compared between oil solutions and Pickering emulsions. The antioxidant activity of ZTA particles was also characterized to demonstrate their role in the chemical protection of CBD.
While this project is still in its beginning, the initial results are very promising. ZTA-based Pickering emulsions seem to be an easy to use, eco-friendly and cost-effective approach for oral formulation of CBD.