Maria Victoria Souto-Silva, Naomi Souza Rodrigues, Lucas F F Albuquerque, Jankerle Neves Boeloni, Eliza Carla Barroso Duarte, Mayra Oliveira-Mendes, Carolina Souto-Rocha, Stefhani Barcelos, Emãnuella Melgaço Garcez, Amandda Evelin Silva-Carvalho, Florêncio Figueiredo Cavalcanti Neto, Guilherme M Gelfuso, Felipe Saldanha-Araujo, Juliana Lott Carvalho
{"title":"Ibrutinib-loaded lipid nanocarriers exhibit antitumor effect in a human ex vivo skin model of melanoma.","authors":"Maria Victoria Souto-Silva, Naomi Souza Rodrigues, Lucas F F Albuquerque, Jankerle Neves Boeloni, Eliza Carla Barroso Duarte, Mayra Oliveira-Mendes, Carolina Souto-Rocha, Stefhani Barcelos, Emãnuella Melgaço Garcez, Amandda Evelin Silva-Carvalho, Florêncio Figueiredo Cavalcanti Neto, Guilherme M Gelfuso, Felipe Saldanha-Araujo, Juliana Lott Carvalho","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126249","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer with high metastatic potential and frequent resistance to apoptosis-inducing therapies. Ibrutinib (IBR), a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has demonstrated antitumor potential, yet its topical application is not well established. This study evaluated the cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and skin permeation effects of free IBR and IBR-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (IBR + NLC) using human melanoma cells (SK-MEL-28) and ex vivo human skin models. NLC + IBR presented enhanced toxicity towards melanoma cells by promoting necroptosis, as evidenced by the absence of caspase-3/7 activation, increased expression of RIPK1 and RIPK3, elevated LDH release, and plasma membrane disruption. In addition, mitochondrial depolarization was observed, likely as a consequence of necroptotic signaling and associated cellular stress. NLC + IBR significantly enhanced reactive oxygen species production, induced cell cycle arrest in the sub-G1 phase, and reduced CDK1 and CDK2 gene expression. Clonogenic and migration assays confirmed complete suppression of tumor cell colony formation and reduced migratory capacity following NLC + IBR treatment. Skin permeation studies revealed that NLC + IBR enabled deeper drug skin penetration, with reduced retention in the stratum corneum and higher accumulation in the viable skin layers, the primary therapeutic target in cutaneous melanoma. Finally, using an ex vivo human skin model of melanoma, NLC + IBR promoted melanoma cell necrosis, while maintaining a favorable topical safety profile with no significant irritation. These findings suggest that NLC + IBR topical application is a promising strategy for localized treatment of cutaneous melanoma, particularly in early-stage or adjuvant contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126249"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145274555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shaoqiu Zhuo, G Reza Malmirchegini, Conor J Gallagher
{"title":"A novel peptide excipient stabilizes DaxibotulinumtoxinA.","authors":"Shaoqiu Zhuo, G Reza Malmirchegini, Conor J Gallagher","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126238","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126238","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surface adsorption of proteins in bulk drug product formulations and loss of protein structural integrity during manufacturing processes can diminish drug potency. In formulations containing low biologic drug substance, such as botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) products, loss of active protein is a major concern. To mitigate the risk of activity loss, most commercial BoNTA products contain an abundance of human serum albumin (HSA, 125-1000 µg/vial) to prevent adsorption of BoNTA to container surfaces by competing for nonspecific binding sites. The stabilizing ability of HSA is well established; however, there are notable potential safety concerns surrounding its use as an excipient. Our data suggests that at pH 5.5, in the presence of increasing concentrations of HSA the 150 kDa BoNTA core neurotoxin (RTT150) may form aggregate complexes with HSA when heated to 45-50 °C, in a dose-dependent manner. A new BoNTA product has recently been approved with a unique formulation which uses a proprietary synthetic cationic peptide (RTP004) to replace HSA as a stabilizer. Here, we show that RTP004 binds to the core neurotoxin and enhances its thermostability. In combination with polysorbate 20 (PS20), RTP004 efficiently and completely prevents surface adsorption of the 150 kDa core neurotoxin and stabilizes the biologic drug substance during manufacturing processes, even at concentrations 10- to 100-fold less than those used for HSA in commercial BoNTA products. Thus, the combination of RTP004 and PS20 forms the basis for a novel and effective BoNTA formulation, removing the need for HSA and thereby avoiding its theoretical safety risks and documented limitations.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126238"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145274434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antonela Bartolilla , Ariana Zoppi , Marcela R. Longhi , Virginia Aiassa
{"title":"Carrier-free cholesteric liquid crystal and xerogel of clarithromycin-ascorbic acid with enhanced antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity","authors":"Antonela Bartolilla , Ariana Zoppi , Marcela R. Longhi , Virginia Aiassa","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Antimicrobial resistance represents a worldwide problem that necessitates the creation of innovative pharmaceutical strategies. In this study, two carrier-free supramolecular systems composed exclusively of clarithromycin (CTY) and ascorbic acid (AA) were developed and characterized: a semi-solid amphotropic cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) and a xerogel. The CLC gel represents the first report of a spontaneous and stable formation of a cholesteric phase from an antibiotic without additional structuring agents. Rheological studies and polarized light microscopy (PLM) show that the mesophase displayed typical viscoelastic behavior with both lyotropic and thermotropic features and consisted of nanometric particles with moderate uniformity, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The system enhanced the antibacterial activity of CTY. This was reflected in a lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and in the inhibition of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> biofilms, including clinical isolates. These findings highlight its potential use in topical or oral antibiotic formulations. The xerogel showed a lamellar organization, as revealed by the calculation of interplanar distances from the X-ray diffraction pattern and further supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This system offers a novel and simple platform for the formulation of antibiotics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":"685 ","pages":"Article 126255"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sura Saad Abdullah, Eun-Ji Kim, Jeongro Lee, Hy Dinh Nguyen, Beom-Jin Lee
{"title":"Impact of methotrexate-loaded fattigated albumin nanoparticles and pharmaceutical excipients on real-time reactive oxygen species and cell viability in a microfluidic chip system.","authors":"Sura Saad Abdullah, Eun-Ji Kim, Jeongro Lee, Hy Dinh Nguyen, Beom-Jin Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126259","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examined the impact of methotrexate (MTX)-loaded albumin-oleic acid nanoparticles (MTX-AONs) and pharmaceutical excipients (PEs) on cell viability and real-time reactive oxygen species (ROS) sensing in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and human non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A). Water-soluble PEs, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SLS), D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (D-α-TPGS), 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), and sodium oleate (SO), were also screened for their ability to improve MTX solubility and influence cellular responses. The self-assembled albumin-oleic acid nanoparticles (AONs) prepared by desolvation, exhibited a mean particle size of 184 ± 2 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.23 ± 0.01, and zeta potential of -37.07 ± 0.9. MTX loading yielded an encapsulation efficiency of 93 % and loading of 9.3 %, increasing particle size greatly to 306.8 ± 2 nm with minimal changes in PDI (0.15 ± 0.01) and zeta potential (-30.3 ± 0.6). The PEs (1 %, w/w) influenced aqueous MTX solubility (mg/mL), giving in the order: SO (5.89 ± 0.12), SLS (1.52 ± 0.11), HP-β-CD (0.97 ± 0.03) and D-α-TPGS (0.64 ± 0.03) compared with free MTX (0.58 ± 0.04 mg/mL). Under dynamic shear stress, MTX-AONs exhibited enhanced anticancer activity compared with static conditions. Furthermore, MCF-7 cell viability was decreased in a dose-dependent manner, while MCF-10A cells were spared, suggesting better cellular uptake than that of free MTX. Co-treatment with PEs decreases MCF-7 cell viability; however, their effectiveness is not affected by MTX solubility. For example, SLS and D-α-TPGS combined with MTX-AONs showed the strongest effects on the cellular viability of MCF-7 cells in both static and dynamic environments, while maintaining MCF-10A cells. As the drug concentration increased, cell viability decreased accordingly, whereas real-time ROS production increased, indicating a good correlation. Interestingly, the expected lethal dose (LD<sub>50</sub>) calculated from the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC<sub>50</sub>) correlated with the reported LD<sub>50</sub> of MTX. The microfluidic chip system can be utilized to screen the impact of formulation design and PEs in cancer therapy by simultaneously measuring cellular viability and real-time ROS levels to predict clinical relevance.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126259"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emerging paradigms in bioorthogonal chemistry for future therapeutics.","authors":"Maide Önder, Fatma Zehra Yılmaz, Zeynep Demirsoy, Gülcihan Gülseren","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126236","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bioorthogonal chemistry, referring to chemical reactions that can occur within living systems without interfering with native biological processes, provides a safe and specific method for labeling or linking biomolecules with rapid and efficient reaction kinetics. To date, various bioorthogonal reactions, such as Staudinger Ligation, copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), copper-free azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC), and the inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder (IEDDA) reaction, have been developed to achieve improved safety and efficacy. These advanced bioorthogonal reactions have enabled the emergence of innovative treatment strategies for diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, ischemia, cardiac hypertrophy, and bacterial infections. Beyond disease treatment, bioorthogonal chemistry has also contributed to the development of advanced diagnostic materials. This review highlights the therapeutic, regenerative, and diagnostic applications of bioorthogonal chemistry.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126236"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lipid monolayer composition and production efficiency in DSPC/PEG40St microbubbles for ultrasound applications","authors":"Sevgi Kilic, Ekrem Ozdemir","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lipid-coated microbubbles are widely used as ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) and are being developed as carriers for drug and gene delivery. These microbubbles typically consist of an inert gas core and a stabilizing monolayer shell of phospholipid and a PEGylated emulsifier. In practice, a 9:1 M ratio of DSPC (a saturated phospholipid) to PEG-40-stearate (PEG<sub>40</sub>St) is conventionally used, under a long-standing assumption that the final composition of the microbubble shell is identical to the initial mixture composition. In this study, we tested that assumption over a wide range of DSPC/PEG<sub>40</sub>St ratios. Using sonication-based fabrication, we prepared microbubble suspensions with PEG<sub>40</sub>St fractions from 10 % up to 90 %. We then quantified the shell composition by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (<sup>1</sup>H NMR) and measured microbubble yield. Contrary to expectation, the PEG<sub>40</sub>St content in the bubble shells lower than PEG<sub>40</sub>St added, indicating selective exclusion or “squeezing out” of PEG<sub>40</sub>St during formation. Only about 4–6 % of the total lipid mixture ended up in the bubble shells and the rest remained as excess in the sub-phase. Thus, 94–96 % of the costly lipid/emulsifier was wasted in the production process. These results overturn the conventional assumption and highlight a critical inefficiency such that substantial amounts of lipid and PEG<sub>40</sub>St were lost during production, and the bubble yields were low. The findings have important implications for microbubble manufacturing, suggesting that alternative formulations or other production methods are needed to improve efficiency, and thus reduce costs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":"685 ","pages":"Article 126254"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145244500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maximilian Aisenstat, Kelvin Duong, Christina Renshaw, Robert Kinsey, Kyle Kaufman, Mani Ordoubadi, John Chen, Hui Wang, Wynton D McClary, Alana Gerhardt, Renata G F Alvim, Tulio M Lima, Leda R Castilho, Andrew R Martin, Christopher B Fox, Reinhard Vehring
{"title":"A Thermostable nasal spray dried COVID vaccine candidate.","authors":"Maximilian Aisenstat, Kelvin Duong, Christina Renshaw, Robert Kinsey, Kyle Kaufman, Mani Ordoubadi, John Chen, Hui Wang, Wynton D McClary, Alana Gerhardt, Renata G F Alvim, Tulio M Lima, Leda R Castilho, Andrew R Martin, Christopher B Fox, Reinhard Vehring","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126240","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126240","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A nasal dry powder adjuvanted subunit COVID vaccine candidate was manufactured via spray drying and evaluated for physicochemical stability and aerosol performance over the course of 10 months under accelerated conditions. A nanoliposomal adjuvant system containing synthetic TLR 4 agonist GLA and synthetic TLR 7/8 agonist 3 M-052 and a trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antigen were encapsulated using trehalose and varying amounts of trileucine as excipients. 1 % and 3 % trileucine batches as well as a trehalose-only control batch were spray dried to achieve varying levels of particle surface modification and to study the overall effects on stability and aerosol performance. All batches achieved good yields and low processing losses on drying. Samples were held at 25 °C and 40 °C and monitored for physical and chemical stability. All three batches showed excellent performance over the course of the study. Overall morphology; solid phase; moisture content; contents of GLA and 3 M-052; and aerosol performance were largely maintained after exposure to high temperatures for 10 months. Spike protein antigen remained present in all samples after exposure, and liposomal size distributions remained within acceptable ranges for all but one of the samples. Overall, this vaccine candidate showed performance suitable for distribution independent of the cold chain and would be able to withstand high-temperature conditions encountered during last-mile delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126240"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145244480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Polysaccharide-based microneedles for advanced wound healing: recent advances and future challenges","authors":"Akshay Kumar , Devesh Kumar , Suresh Babu Kondaveeti , Jailani Shiekmydeen , Ankit Awasthi , Thakur Gurjeet Singh , Mohit Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wound healing is a complex, dynamic, and tightly regulated biological process orchestrated by intricate cellular signalling pathways. Both acute and chronic wounds present significant therapeutic challenges, driving the demand for innovative and effective treatment modalities. The existing treatment options fail to address the challenges associated with conventional dosage forms, such as poor skin penetration and low bioavailability. Microneedle (MN) technology has emerged as a minimally invasive, highly efficient platform for localised drug delivery, offering the potential to accelerate and enhance tissue repair. Among the diverse materials investigated for MN fabrication, polysaccharide-based biodegradable polymers have attracted particular interest owing to their exceptional biocompatibility, biodegradability, and intrinsic biological activities. This review provides an in-depth analysis of natural polysaccharides (e.g., chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid) and synthetic polysaccharides (e.g., polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, PLGA) employed in MN-assisted wound healing. In this review, authors also highlighted the roles of polysaccharides in modulating key phases of the healing cascade, namely inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling, via critical signalling pathways such as NF-κB, PI3K/Akt, and TGF-β. These multifunctional properties of marine, plants, and animal-derived polysaccharides are also explored, particularly their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenic effects when incorporated into MN systems. By enabling targeted, sustained, and responsive therapeutic delivery, polysaccharide-based MNs represent a transformative strategy for advanced wound care. The future research should focus on scalable manufacturing techniques, the integration of stimuli-responsive elements, and robust clinical evaluation to unlock the full potential of these polysaccharide-mediated microneedles as next-generation wound healing platforms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":"685 ","pages":"Article 126256"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145244528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roghayyeh Baghban, Mohammad Reza Khalili, Athar Zareei, Mohammad Reza Talebnejad
{"title":"Advancing glaucoma treatment with nanotechnology: a new frontier in ophthalmology.","authors":"Roghayyeh Baghban, Mohammad Reza Khalili, Athar Zareei, Mohammad Reza Talebnejad","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126210","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glaucoma is defined by the progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which ultimately results in permanent vision loss. Reducing Intraocular pressure (IOP) is now the primary therapeutic approach; however, it merely delays the disease's progression and does not provide recovery. However, the present approaches, like eye drops, have low adherence and short-term efficacy, and procedures are susceptible to failure because of wound fibrosis. By encapsulating antifibrotic and IOP-lowering medications in biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs), nanotechnology provides a method that ensures continuous release to protect injured eye cells. Additionally, nanotechnology makes it possible for patients to get therapy in a variety of convenient ways, such as contact lenses, ocular inserts, and eye drops. This review highlights the potential therapeutic applications of nanotechnology for managing glaucoma.</p>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":" ","pages":"126210"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145238694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maksym Dosta , Moritz Schneider , Christopher W. Geis , Lukas Schulte , Jan M. Kriegl , Alberto M. Gomez , Enric D. Domenech , Judith Stephan , Martin Maus , Victor N. Emenike
{"title":"Machine learning real-time control of continuous granulation process","authors":"Maksym Dosta , Moritz Schneider , Christopher W. Geis , Lukas Schulte , Jan M. Kriegl , Alberto M. Gomez , Enric D. Domenech , Judith Stephan , Martin Maus , Victor N. Emenike","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpharm.2025.126244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition from traditional batch to continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing puts additional demands on the efficient process development and operation. The comprehensive understanding of complex interdependencies between critical process parameters (CPPs) and critical material attributes (CMAs) for the plants consisting of several unit operations is very challenging for process operators and experts. Therefore, the development of computational models is necessary to implement active process control and ensure a control state. Here, we present a machine-learning (ML) based approach to build a data-driven process model and to implement real-time process control for a continuous wet granulation line. The analysis of historical process data, where a set of experiments was performed for a targeted collection of new data, has allowed us to successfully build an ML kernel and to implement a control system for the granulation plant. Furthermore, to support the ML training process, the process data was extended with mechanistic models implemented as soft-sensors, resulting in a hybrid model architecture. The performed tests have shown that the proposed strategy and the developed ML system can be efficiently used to perform real-time control of the continuous plant and to achieve desired CMAs such as size and loss on drying of the final granules by adjusting CPPs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14187,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Pharmaceutics","volume":"685 ","pages":"Article 126244"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145238656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}