Membrane lipid composition impact on drug permeability using PAMPA assay

• Grant number: 12/17861-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmaceutical Technology
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Helena dos Reis Serra
• Grantee: Juliana Marino Barbosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The prediction of in vivo absorption has been shown as an interesting scientific area, especially with regard to new molecules discovery and development. Furthermore, some in vitro methods have been described and are broadly used despite their limitations, such as high costs, difficulties of maintenance during the experiment, and lack of standardization of protocols. Since its first attempt in 1998, the Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay (PAMPA) presents itself as an experiment that intends to simulate drug permeability, in a fast, efficient, and low-cost way, manly in comparison to Caco-2 cells. Studies that compared both techniques have demonstrated excellent results correlation, especially for passively transported drugs. During the last few years, PAMPA has been going through constant improvements, in order to become even more robust and reproducible. One of the most important remaining disagreements between the parameters of the technique currently available refers to the lipid composition of the artificial membrane, which reinforces the difficulty in proposing an ideal composition. Therefore, the present project intends to investigate the artificial membrane lipid composition used on the PAMPA studies and its influence on drug permeability, and thus cooperate with the future standardization of the method.(AU)