ABSTRACT
Christopher J. H. Porter and William N. Charman Department of Pharmaceutics, Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University,
Parkville, Victoria, Australia
INTRODUCTION: LIPID-BASED FORMULATIONS AND ORAL DRUG DELIVERY
The use of formulations containing natural and/or synthetic lipids as a potential strategy for improving the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble, highly lipophilic drug candidates has received increasing interest in recent years. For poorly water-soluble compounds, lipids are believed to assist absorption by reducing the inherent limitations of slow and incomplete dissolution and by facilitating the formation of colloidal species within the intestine that are capable of maintaining otherwise poorly water-soluble drugs in solution. Importantly, the formation of these solubilizing species does not necessarily arise directly from the administered lipid, but more frequently results from the intraluminal processing of these lipids (via digestion and dispersion) prior to absorption (1-3).
