OPTICORE™, an innovative and accurate colonic targeting technology

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Pharmaceutics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects millions globally, with current treatments often relying on suboptimal colonic targeting.
• Existing colonic drug delivery systems primarily utilize the gastrointestinal pH gradient, which can be inconsistent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate the novel OPTICORE™ coating technology for enhanced colonic drug delivery.
• To investigate the mechanisms of accelerated drug release and improved targeting for IBD therapies.

Main Methods:

• Development of OPTICORE™ technology with a dual-trigger outer layer (pH and enzyme) and an inner release acceleration layer.
• Coating 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) tablets with various inner layer formulations, manipulating polymer type, buffer salt concentration, and neutralization pH.
• Analysis of drug release profiles influenced by buffer capacity, pH, ionic strength, and colonic bacterial enzymes.

Main Results:

• The inner layer's buffer capacity, influenced by polymer type and buffer salt concentration, significantly accelerates drug release.
• An interplay of buffer capacity, pH, and ionic strength is crucial for optimized release kinetics.
• Resistant starch in the outer layer enables enzyme-mediated drug release by colonic bacteria without compromising enteric properties.

Conclusions:

• OPTICORE™ technology offers a superior approach to colonic drug delivery compared to standard enteric coatings.
• The dual-trigger system ensures more precise drug delivery to the colon, benefiting patients with conditions like ulcerative colitis.