Triglycerides as Solvents for Pharmaceuticals

Lipid-based drug delivery systems (LBDDSs) are a promising option to increase the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs). In the simplest case, APIs can be dissolved in a triglyceride (TG). However, choosing the best-suited
TG, requires a mechanistic understanding of how its properties influence the API solubility and therewith the thermodynamic
stability of those formulations. The influences of TG chain length and degree of saturation on API solubility were investigated
in this work. Solubility experiments and thermodynamic modeling were combined to allow screening for best-suited LBDDS.
This method enables straight-forward formulation development and complements the commonly-used trial and error
methods in pharmaceutical industry.