Development of pH-sensitive self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems for acid-labile lipophilic drugs

Oral administration is the most convenient way of all the drug delivery routes. Orally administered bioactive compounds must resist the harsh acidic fluids or enzyme digestion in stomach, to reach their absorbed destination in small intestine. This is the case for silibinin, a drug used to protect liver cells against toxins that has also been demonstrated in vitro to possess anti-cancer effects. However, as many other drugs, silibinin can degrade in the stomach due to the action of the gastric fluid. The use of pH-sensitive self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (pH-SNEDDS) could overcome the drawback due to degradation of the drug in the stomach while enhancing its solubility and dissolution rate.

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