The Effects of Bile Salts and Lipids on the Physicochemical Behavior of Gemfibrozil

Physicochemical effects caused by intestinal fluids on drugs in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract can be a contributing factor in food induced changes in bioavailability. To identify physicochemical properties of gemfibrozil that may be altered by endogenous and dietary lipids, in vitro studies were conducted in model systems approximating the conditions of the upper GI tract. Factors examined include pH, solubility in bile salt micellar and mixed micellar systems with monoolein and lecithin, effect of fatty acids, dissolution, wetting, and partitioning in triglyceride dispersions. Gemfibrozil was solubilized by glycocholate solutions in a manner typical of other lipids and a three-fold increase in solubility was observed over physiologic concentrations. Addition of increasing amounts of swelling amphiphiles (monoolein, lecithin) to glycocholate solutions resulted in a linear increase in solubility. Fatty acid salts had no effect on gemfibrozil solubilization by micellar solutions. The dissolution rate of gemfibrozil increased slightly in the presence of glycocholate relative to buffer, however, addition of monoolein increased the dissolution rate three-fold. In triglyceride dispersions of mixtures of lipids, monoolein increased the fraction of drug in the micellar sub-phase, whereas fatty acid reduced it. The results indicate that in the conditions of the fed state gemfibrozil solubility and dissolution could be substantially increased relative to the conditions in the fasted state.Presented in the part at the 8th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, November 14–18, 1993.