Application of Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in oral preparations.

Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin are used in oral pharmaceutical formulations, by means of inclusion complexes formation, with the following advantages for the drugs:

1. Can enhancement solubility, dissolution rate, stability, and bioavailability;
2. Can modify the drug release site and/or time profile;
3. Can reduce or prevent gastrointestinal side effects and unpleasant smell or taste, to prevent drug–drug or drug–additive interactions, or even to convert oil and liquid drugs into microcrystalline or amorphous powders.

 A more recent trend focuses on the use of Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin as nanocarriers, a strategy that aims to design versatile delivery systems that can encapsulate drugs with better physicochemical properties for oral delivery. Thus, the aim of this work was to review the applications of the CDs and their hydrophilic derivatives on the solubility enhancement of poorly water-soluble drugs in order to increase their dissolution rate and get immediate release, as well as their ability to control (to prolong or to delay) the release of drugs from solid dosage forms, either as complexes with the hydrophilic (e.g., as osmotic pumps) and/or hydrophobic CDs. New controlled delivery systems based on nanotechnology carriers (nanoparticles and conjugates) have also been reviewed.