Polymeric liposomes of emtricitabine employing modified pullulan—an attempt to reduce associated hepatotoxicity

Abstract

Emtricitabine (FTC) a BCS class I drug, is used for HIV prevention. The high solubility of the drug is the leading cause of severe hepatotoxicity and lactic acidosis. This research focuses on the use of modified pullulan for the preparation of polymeric liposomes of FTC. Modified pullulan was synthesized using cholesterol, and succinic anhydride in a controlled chemical environment. The formation of the polymer was established through analysis of spectra. Varying the drug-polymer ratio (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3), the drug-polymer composite was loaded in the vesicular system of soya phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Formulations were evaluated for drug entrapment, particle size, surface morphology, and in vitro and ex vivo drug release. An in vivo study of the pure drug and the best formulation on mice was conducted for 28 days following daily oral administration to evaluate the effect on liver and hematological parameters. The best formulation was further subjected to cytotoxicity study on hepatic cell lines. Spectral analysis confirmed the formation of modified pullulan. All formulations showed high drug entrapment in the nanovesicles. The in vitro and ex vivo drug release profiles depicted a controlled release of the drug. Hematological parameters were found to be under control in the animals throughout the experimentation. A comparative histopathology study on the livers and cytotoxicity study on hepatic cell lines revealed the safety of the best formulation over the pure drug. Hence it can be concluded that polymeric liposomes of FTC can be a promising mode of delivery to overcome its limitations.

Keywords:

• Emtricitabine
• HIV
• modified pullulan
• hepatotoxicity
• polymeric liposomes

Author contributions

Sayani Bhattacharyya designed the study, supervised the experiments, and drafted the manuscript. Lahari R conducted the experiments. Ranganath MK interpreted the analytical observations. The manuscript was written and approved by all authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.