The feasibility of [P(AA-co-PEGMM)] film as a buccal mucoadhesive patch was previously reported by estimating mucoadhesiveness and release characteristics. To find a rational penetration enhancer of [P(AA-co-PEGMM)] film containing butorphanol tartrate (Bt), penetration of Bt from [P(AA-co-PEGMM)] film which contained various additives was estimated by measuring its flux, Papp and lag tme in in vitro buccal membrane of porcine. EDTA showed almost no increase of Bt permeability, wherease SGC, STDHF and SLS increased the permeability of Bt with the order of SGC > STDHF > SLS. The rational additive concentration of SGC was 4% and its Papp and lag time were $1.93{\times}10^{-4}{\pm}4.21{\times}10^{-6},\;126.60{\pm}21.88min\;(control\;:\;Papp\;0.45{\times}10^{-4};\;lag\;time\;211.01{\pm}16.77\;min)$, respectively.

In order to develop a film-forming transdermal drug delivery system, polyurethane (PU) based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(tetramethylene oxide) was synthesized and characterized. The synthesized PU was blended with Gantrez ES 225 (GT) to improve the adhesion property of film-forming agent to the skin. When film-forming gel formulation containing 3% ketoprofen (KP) was applied, transparent thin film was obtained within 5 minutes and adhered to the skin for 8 hours. In vitro percutaneous absortion studies were performed to determine the rate of ketoprofen absorption through guinea pig skin. A prominent effect of limonene on the skin permeability of ketoprofen was observed among the various skin permeation enhancers investigated. Considering mechanica properties of film and skin permeability of ketoprofen, 2% of limonene was optimal content in the film forming transdermal formulation.

Drug interactions with food, on occasion, lead to serious nutritional and functional changes in the body as well as alterations of pharmacological effect. It, therefore, should be necessary to take drug interactions with food into consideration for effective and safe therapeutics. Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterzed by abnormal glucose homeostasis, resulting in hyperglycemia, and is associated with increased risk of microvascular, macrovascular, and neuropathic complications. However, the precise mechanism of diabetes mellitus remains unclear. Three basic objectives in the care of diabetic patients are maintaining optimal nutrition, avoiding hypo- or hyperglycemia and preventing complications. Laminaria japonica is a brown macroalgae which can be used as a functional diet due to high content of diatery fiber. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Laminaria japonica diet on the pharmacokinetics of metformin which are frequently used in the treatment of diabetes. Diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin were employed in this study. Blood concentrations of oral hypoglycemic agent, metformin, were measured by HPLC and resultant pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by RSTRIP. The mechanisms of drug interaction with food were evaluated on the basis of pharmacokinetic parameters such as $k_{a},\;t_{1/2},\;C_{max},\;t_{max}$, and AUC. Administration of metformin in normal and diabetic rats treated with Laminaria japonica diet showed significant decrease in AUC, $C_{max},\;and\;k_a$, and increase in $t_{max}$, compared to those with normal diet. This might result from adsortion of metformin on components of Laminaria japonica, causing delayed absorption. The oral glucose test showed that Laminaria japonica diet could lower blood glucose level probably through either inhibiting the activity of disaccharidases, intestinal digestive enzymes, or delaying the absorption of glucose. More studies should be followed to fully understand pharmacokinetic changes of metformin caused by long-term Laminaria japonica diet.

Melatonin (MT) is an indole amide pineal hormone. It has not only very short half-life but also pH-sensitive property. The sustained release dosage form which delivers MT in a circadian fashion over 8 h is clinical value. The purpose of this study is to prepare sugar beads using multiple coating methods and enteric-coated in a sustained release to evaluate in vitro release characteristics in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The $Eudragit^{\circledR}$ as a polymer, sustained release membrane, and triethylcitrate (TEC) as a plasticzer were used. Multi-coated melatonin delivery system was composed of sugar, various excipients, $Eudragit^{\circledR}$ and enteric materials (e.g. hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose phthalate, HPMCP), and prepared by fluid bed coater. The dissolution test was carried out using the basket method at a stirring speed of 100 rpm at $37^{\circ}C$ in simulated gastric (pH 1.2) and intestinal fluid (pH 7.4). The released amount of MT was determined by High performance liquid chromatography method. The morhologies of surface and cross section of multi-coated beads were observed by scanning electron microscope. Size of multi-coated sugar beads was ranged over $1000{\sim}1300\;{\mu}m$. The release rate of MT from coated beads was limited in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2), but it was sustained in intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) during $3{\sim}8$ hours. The MT beads may provide small-intestine-targeted device for oral delivery. Studies on animal and relative experiment are in process.

This study was aimed to formulate various phospholipid nanoparticles composed of different surfactants and to evaluate the deformability of the phospholipid vesicles as candidates of useful ultradeformable nanoparticles. In vitro deformability of the phospholipid nanoparticles was studied using an extruder under a certain pressure. The sizes of phospholipid nanoparticles, passed volumes, and concentrations of the phospholipids in suspensions before and after extrusion were measured. The deformability indexes were estimated by using passed volumes, sizes of phospholipid nanoparticles and concentrations of phospholipids. Conventional liposomes, placed under a certain pressure of an extruder, showed no passed volume indicating little deformability. Similar to conventional liposomes, phospholipid nanoparticles containing surfactants such as sodium taurocholate, Myrj 45, or Myrj 53 showed little deformability. In contrast, phospholipid nanoparticles composed of Tween 20, Triton X-100, or sodium deoxycholate showed higher deformability indexes than others. Taken together, the deformability of phospholpid nanoparticles could be significantly affected by the type of surfactants. Moreover, these results suggest that the deformability of phospholipid nanoparticles could be modulated by surfactants.

The objective of this study is to investigate the pharamacokinetic parameters of decursinol following oral administration in Sprague-Dawley rats. The plasma concentration of decursinol was determined by LC/MS with APCI positive mode. The m/z value of decursinol was observed at 247. Following oral administration of decursinol extract, the apparent clearance was $5.3{\pm}2.7\;ml/hr/rat$, the absorption half life was $2.5{\pm}0.41\;hr$, the elimination half life was $3.05{\pm}1.57\;hr$, and the apparent volume of distribution was $21{\pm}12\;ml/rat$. The LC/MS method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of decursinol.

Pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of levosulpiride was determined in Korean healthy male volunteers. Thirty subjects received a single oral dose (25 mg) of a tablet in a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over design. The plasma concentrations of levosulpiride were measured by HPLC and compared with those reported in the literature. Pharmacokinetic parameters for $Isomeric^{\circledR}$ tablet (levosulpiride 25 mg) were revealed as follows: $AUC_{inf}\;737.1{\pm}176.9\;ng{\cdot}hr/ml,\;C_{max}\;56.4{\pm}20.1\;ng/ml,\;T_{max}\;4.2{\pm}1.6\;hr,\;K_a\;1.00{\pm}1.09\;hr^{-1},\;K_{el}\;0.08{\pm}0.02\;hr^{-1},\;and\;t_{1/2}\;8.8{\pm}1.9\;hr$. The rate constant of the absorption phase was obtained based on the first-order kinetics. In the aspect of bioavailability, $Isomeric^{\circledR}$ tablet was bioequivalent to the other product $(Levopride^{\circledR}\;tablet)$ available in the Korea market. Intersubject variations and race differences were show in comparison with the published data in the literature, even though there was a linear relationship between dose ad extent of bioavailability.

The objective of this study was to construct the pegylated liposomes containing plasmid DNA with optimal encapsulation efficiency. Plasmid DNA $(pGL2\;clone\;753,\;{\sim}6\;kb)$ was encapsulated by the freeze/thawing method into liposomes composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine (POPC), didodecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DDAB), distearoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine polyethylene glycol 2000 (DSPE-PEG 2000) and DSPE-PEG 2000-male-imide. The liposomes containing plasmid DNA were then extruded through two stacked polycarbonate filters with series of different pore sizes to control the liposome size. The plasmid DNA entrapped in the liposomes was separated from free plasmid DNA by Sephadex CL-4B column chromatography. The decreased pore size of polycarbonate filters resulted in the decreased size of liposomes. The encapsulation efficiency was markedly affected by the cationic lipid (DDAB) concentration, but to a low degree by the size of liposomes and by the amount of plasmid DNA.

A bioequivalence study of $Ambrect^{TM}$ tablets (Dong Wha Pharm. Ind. Co., Ltd.) to $Mucopect^{TM}$ tablets (Boehringer Ingelheim Korea, Ltd.) was conducted according to the guideline of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Twenty four healthy male Korea volunteers received each medicine at the ambroxol hydrochloride dose of 30 mg in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. There was a one-week wash out period between the doses. Plasma concentrations of ambroxol were monitored by a high-performance liquid chromatography for over a period of 24 hours after the administration. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 24 hr) was calulated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}\;(time\;to\;reach\;C_{max})$ were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters indicating that the crossover design was properly performed. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for $Ambrect^{TM}/Mucopect^{TM}$ were 0.89-1.01 and 0.89-1.02, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of 0.80-1.25. Thus, our study demonstrated the bioequivalence of $Ambrect^{TM}\;and\;Mucopect^{TM}$ with respect to the rate and extent of absorption.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ketoconazole (20 mg/kg) on the pharmacokinetic parameters and the bioavailability of paclitaxel (40 mg/kg) orally coadministered in rats. The plasma concentration of paclitaxel in combination with ketoconazole was significantly (p<0.05) increased from 8 hr to 24 hr compared to that of control. Area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of paclitaxel with ketoconazole was significantly (coadministration p<0.05, pretreatment p<0.0l) higher than that of control. Peak concentration $(C_{max})$ of paclitaxel pretreated with ketoconazole were significantly (p<0.05) increased compared to that of control. Time to peak concentation $(T_{max})$ of paclitaxel pretreated with ketoconazole were significantly (p<0.05) shorter than that of control. Half-life at elimination phase $(t_{1/2{\beta}})$ of paclitaxel pretreated with ketoconazole was significantly (p<0.05) prolonged compared to that of control. Based on these results, it might be due to both inhibition of the enzyme cytochrome P450 and p-glycoprotein, which engaged in paclitaxel absorption and metabolism in liver and gastrointestinal mucosa.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two enalapril maleate tablets, $Renitec^{TM}$ (MSD Korea Ltd.) and $Enalace^{TM}$ (Welfide Korea Ltd.), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Twenty-four normal male volunteers, $22.33{\pm}2.55$ year in age and $66.54{\pm}8.30$ kg in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After two tablets containing 10 mg of enalapril maleate per tablet were orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and concentrations of enalapril in plasma were determined using LC-MS-MS. Pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$ untransformed $T_{max}$. There were no sequence effects between two formulations in these parameters. The 90% confidence intervals for the log transformed data were acceptance range of log0.8 to log1.25$(e.g.,\;log1.02{\sim}log1.14\;and\;log1.03{\sim}log1.19\;for\;AUC_t\;and\;C_{max},\;respectively)$. The major parameters, $AUC_t,\;and\;C_{max}$, met the criteria of KDFA for bioequivalence indicating that $Enalace^{TM}$ tablet is bioequivalent to $Renitec^{TM}$ tablet.

Erdosteine, the thiol derivatives chemically related to cysteine, is a mucolytic and mucoregulator agent which modulates mucus production and viscosity and increases mucociliary transport. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two erdosteine capsules, Erdos (Dae Woong Pharmaceutical Co., Korea) and Erblon (Kuhn Il Pharmaceutical Co., Korea), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The erdosteine release from the two erdosteine capsules in vitro was tested using KP VII Apparatus II method with various different kinds of dissolution media (pH 1.2, 4.0, 6.8 buffer solution and water). Twenty four healthy male subjects, $23.33{\pm}2.06$ years in age and $66.18{\pm}8.19\;kg$ in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was employed. After three capsules containing 300 mg as erdosteine were orally administered, blood was taken at predetermined time intervals and the concentations of erdosteine in serum were determined using HPLC method with UV detector. The dissolution profiles of two formulations were similar at all dissolution media. Besides, the pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$ were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t\;and\;C_{max}$ and untransformed $T_{max}$. The results showed that the differences between two formulations based on the Erdos were 0.20%, 1.10% and -9.44% for $AUC_t,\;C_{max}\;and\;T_{max}$, respectively. There were no sequence effects between two formulations in these parameters. The 90% confidence intervals using logarithmically transformed data were within the acceptance range of log(0.8) to log(1.25) $(e.g.,\;log(0.94){\sim}log(1.22)\;and\;log(0.92){\sim}log(1.20)\;for\;AUC_t\;and\;C_{max},\;respectively$. Thus, the criteria of the KFDA guidelines for the bioequivalence was satisfied, indicating Erblon capsule and Erdos capsule are bioequivalent.

Dissolution profile comparsions can be done by virtue of the similarity factor $(f_2)$. It is a logarithmic reciprocal square root transformation of the sum of squared error of % dissolution differences between two profiles at several time points. It gives information on the degree of similarity between the two profiles: An $f_2$ value between 50 and 100 suggests the similarity/equivalence of the two dissolution curves being compared. The objective of this report was to provide a careful examination on the $f_2$ metrics in detail. It was shown that $f_2$ values exceeded 50, when relative differences in % dissolved between two products were less than 15% at all time points. The similarity factor value was also found to be greater than 50, in cases when absolute % dissolution differences were below 10% at all time points. Interestingly, the $f_2$ value was changed by the number of the time points selected for calculation. In particular, $f_2$ tended to have higher values, when the $f_2$ metrics used a large number of time points in which % dissolved reached plateau. Finally, since the similarity factor was a sample statistics, it was impossible to infer type I/II errors and sampling error. Despite certain limitations inherited in the $f_2$ metrics, it was easy and convenient to evaluate how similar the two dissolution profiles were.