Development of binary dispersions and nanocomposites of irbesartan with enhanced antihypertensive activity

[Image: see text] Introduction: Irbesartan (IBS), an angiotensin II receptor (AT1 subtype) antagonist which blocks the vasoconstrictor and aldosterone-secreting effects of angiotensin II by selective binding to AT1 angiotensin II receptor. It belongs to BCS class II drug (low aqueous solubility and high permeability). Improvement of dissolution characteristics of the drug by formulating is being investigated in the current study. Methods: Solid dispersions (SD) formulations were prepared by the melting fusion technique and nanocomposites (NC) were prepared by a single emulsion technique. Eight batches of SD and three batches of NC were formulated in three ratios of drug to polymer (1:1, 1:2, and 1:3). The batches were evaluated for equilibrium solubility studies, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission SEM (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and in vitro dissolution studies. Results: Solubility studies revealed maximum solubility at a 1:2 ratio of solid dispersions and a 1:1 ratio of nanocomposites. No drug-polymer interaction was observed in FTIR results. DSC, SEM, and XRD analysis revealed changes in drug crystallinity i.e. conversion to the amorphous state of drugs. Nanosize of particles in the NC1 batch was confirmed in TEM studies. Solid dispersions and nanocomposites showed significant enhancement of dissolution in comparison to that of the pure drug (100% drug release in approximately 1 hour). Conclusion: Nanocomposites proved superior carriers to solid dispersions in terms of the dissolution enhancement. Further, in vivo studies indicated that the induction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the optimized formulation (NC1) was significantly decreased in comparison to the disease control group (P <0.01) at all time intervals along with pure drug (P <0.05).