The College of Pharmacy discussed the PhD dissertation entitled ” Preparation and Characterization of Repaglinide Nanoparticles as an Oral Dosage Form” by the student Hamsa Yaseen Ghadhban and her supervisor, Dr. Kawther Khalid Ahmed, at the Pharmaceutics Department. The objectives of the study were to enhance the dissolution rate of Repaglinide by nanosuspension technique with different hydrophilic stabilizers and subsequent evaluation of resulted nanoparticles and the factors affecting their formulation and stabilization. The optimized formula was subsequently incorporated into a fast-dissolving buccal film. The outcomes showed that the best nanosuspension was prepared with 3mg/ml Soluplus using ethanol as a solvent. This formulation proved an enhancement of repaglinide dissolution rate with a complete drug release within 30 min in both sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.8 and simulated saliva fluid. Thermal analysis via DSC and PXRD established conversion of repaglinide from crystalline to amorphous form. SEM imaging displayed the spherical nanoparticles; FTIR showed absence of interaction between NS components and formation of hydrogen bond. The fast-dissolving buccal film formulated with glycerin 19% w/w, CP maximum concentration 8% w/w, and citric acid 1% w/w for pH adjustment namely (PVAa2) showed disintegration within 25 seconds and superior repaglinide release. Permeation study revealed higher release of repaglinide through the tissue for the nanosuspension-based film compared to the pure repaglinide fast dissolving film. The study concluded the significance of formulating repaglinide as a nanosuspension prior to its incorporation into buccal dosage forms for enhanced dissolution and solubility, and its permeation profiles . The study recommended conducting stability and bioavailability studies to further affirm the eligibility of prepared formulation as a pharmaceutical dosage form. The outcomes of the study were published in the AAPS PharmSciTech journal (Scopus indexed Q1), visit the link below, and a second manuscript is in preparation/ submission to another journal. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1208/s12249-024-02868-w
