Novel Cyclodextrins As Excipients for Drug Formulations

BACKGROUND 

Cyclodextrins are cyclic oligosaccharides used for the improvement of water-solubility and bioavailability of medicinal products. They are a class of non-toxic, water-soluble D-glucose based macrocycles with a hydrophobic cavity. The varying cavity sizes offer increased utility in a wide variety of applications including drug delivery; the chemical modification of cyclodextrins can change their solubility and bioavailability.  At least six types are already available on the market. This class of excipients can be readily tailored for use in drug formulations.

The CC Ling group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Calgary has designed several families of patent protected, uniquely modified cyclodextrins, with rationally designed structures and demonstrated properties that are suitable for applications as excipients. The materials readily form inclusion complexes with a wide variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients and improve their water solubility, stability and bioavailability. They can be further developed as scavenger medicines to remove undesired metabolites or drugs from the body.

AREAS OF APPLICATION 

• Excipients
• Drug delivery
• Rescue medicines

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

• Monodisperse, single molecule excipients with variable cavity sizes and linker lengths.
• Polyanionic, highly water soluble and do not form self-inclusion complexes.
• Proprietary “catch and release” technologies for fast binding affinity determination and screening of drug candidates for inclusion by mass spectrometry.
• Lower viscosity and higher solubility than commercial excipients.

PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES

• Patent publications:
  • Granted US patent (April 2018): US9950080B2
  • Granted US patent (May 2020): US10662260B2
• Researcher profile: Dr. Chang-Chun Ling
• Lab website: The Ling Research Group