Celecoxib (CLX), a poorly soluble anti-inflammatory drug, requires administration in higher concentrations to produce therapeutic effects, oftentimes resulting in cardiac toxicity. Therefore, in this study, we employed a nanoemulsion technology to improve the solubility of CLX using poly(δ-decalactone) (PDL) polymer as an oil and mPEG-b-PDL as a surfactant. The nanoemulsion (NE) was successfully prepared via the nanoprecipitation method. In vitro characterization was performed for size, drug release, and stability. In vivo studies were performed to establish anti-inflammatory activity, CLX induced cardiac toxicity, and pharmacokinetic profile of NE, post-oral administration. The globular size of less than 100 nm was obtained in NE with high CLX loading. The in vitro drug release studies suggested ∼90% of CLX release from NE within 96 h. A significant anti-inflammatory activity with lowered cardiac marker values was observed for CLX NE compared to a marketed drug formulation. The pharmacokinetic study revealed that the mean retention time of CLX was significantly increased with NE in contrast to the marketed formulation, suggesting the advantage of administering CLX in the form of NE owing to the higher solubility and sustained release pattern. The long-term storage stability study reveals that NE does not show significant changes in terms of size with only a slight decrement in CLX content was observed after 24 months. The obtained results indicate that CLX bioavailability has been considerably improved without being toxic to the heart with the aid of NE and advocate the use of PDL NE for developing oral formulations for poorly soluble drugs.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory activity; Cardiac toxicity; Nanoemulsion; Nanoprecipitation; Pharmacokinetics, Oral delivery.
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