A dabigatran etexilate phospholipid complex nanoemulsion system for further oral bioavailability by reducing drug-leakage in the gastrointestinal tract

Dabigatran etexilate (DE) is insoluble at neutral pH values but soluble at low pH values due to protonation, which is the major cause for the poor bioavailability of commercial DE products. Here, we first developed a DE nanoemulsion system and improved dissolution in simulated intestinal fluids by encapsulating DE into an oil phase, but 35.8% of the drug still leaked out. Further, we prepared a DE-phospholipid complex (DE-PC) to enhance lipophilicity and solubility of DE. The resulting DE-PC nanoemulsions significantly (P < 0.05) reduced drug leakage and subsequent precipitation. As a result, the relative bioavailability of DE-PC nanoemulsions increased to 147.3% and 606.6% compared to DE nanoemulsions and commercial DE products, respectively. Thus, the presently developed drug-phospholipid complex nanoemulsion system is a promising drug delivery system for improving the oral bioavailability of pH-dependent soluble drugs. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.