Nimodipine nanocrystals for oral bioavailability improvement: Preparation, characterization and pharmacokinetic studies

This study intended to develop nimodipine (NMD) nanocrystals with different sizes for oral administration and to investigate the relationship between dissolution and pharmacokinetics for NMD nanocrystals and Nimotop®. NMD nanocrystals were prepared by combination of microprecipitation and high pressure homogenization and were further lyophilized. The particle size, morphology and aqueous solubility of the NMD nanocrystals were determined. With Nimotop® as the control, the dissolution rate was evaluated and the pharmacokinetic study was undertaken in beagle dogs. NMD nanocrystals with mean diameters of about 159.0, 503.0 and 833.3 nm were prepared, respectively. The lyophilization didn’t affect the particle sizes of the redispersed nanocrystals. The aqueous solubility was significantly improved and displayed a size-dependent manner. The nanocrystals exhibited lower dissolution patterns than Nimotop® under non-sink condition, but bioavailability of the two nanocrystals (159.0 and 833.3 nm) was equivalent, about 2.6-fold higher than Nimotop®. In conclusion, oral nanocrystal drug delivery system was a promising strategy in improving the oral bioavailability of poorly soluble or insoluble drugs. But we could not establish a favorable in vitro in vivo correlation for NMD nanocrystals and Nimotop® and thus the oral absorption mechanism of the NMD nanocrystals required further study.