Supersaturating drug delivery systems: fast is not necessarily good enough

An emerging technology subtype that has been adopted by formulators to address low-solubility issues is the supersaturating drug delivery system; this system is based on the "spring" and "parachute" design elements, which have been applied to lipid-based formulations, S(M)EDDS, solid dispersions, nano-based systems, and many others. This broad formulation approach attempts to delicately balance the need of creating intraluminal drug concentrations in excess of its thermodynamic solubility while at the same time providing for sufficient solution stability to allow for useful drug absorption. The conundrum created is that the higher the extent of supersaturation, the lower the physical stability of the metastable solution based on an increased tendency for a solubilized drug to precipitate. Traditional dissolution testing is a touchstone of formulation development based on the need for useful dissolution rates and drug availability. Dissolution testing is likewise important in the development and characterization of enabling and supersaturating drug delivery systems; however, their execution and interpretation are distinct from that associated with conventional dosage forms. The nature of the dissolution assay (sink versus nonsink, apparatus type, and rate and extent of supersaturation) can impact the ability to efficiently use the dissolution data in the configuration of these enabling formulations.