Oral drug-delivery by Deep Eutectic Solvents – ODES

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are currently experiencing a rapid expansion in pharmaceutical development, particularly due to their ability to increase the solubility of poorly water-soluble molecules. Among the various potential routes of administration, the topical cutaneous and the transdermal routes are currently the most studied, whereas studies involving the oral route are few or fragmentary. In particular, there are few comprehensive studies combining solubility and stability studies of an active substance, acute and chronic in-vivo toxicity studies, pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies of the active substance and efficacy studies in a pathological situation. The aim of the ODES (Oral drug-delivery by Deep Eutectic Solvents) project is therefore to gain a better understanding of the potential of DESs for oral administration by avoiding the pitfalls described above, in particular by identifying the strengths but also the possible drawbacks of these solvents. Thus, during the ODES project, the in-vivo toxicity of these new solvents will be studied both from an acute and a chronic point of view, including the effects of DESs on the intestinal microbiota. In addition, using albendazole as a model molecule, solubility and stability studies will be performed and an analysis of the supersaturation phenomenon is also planned. Furthermore, using alveolar echinococcosis as a model pathology, pharmacokinetic and tissue biodistribution studies of albendazole solubilized in the various non-toxic DESs will be carried out under pathological conditions to take into account the inflammatory component that could totally change plasma and tissue concentrations. Finally, therapeutic efficacy studies on alveolar echinococcosis will be carried out and correlated with bioavailability.