Food packaging films could enhance stability of hygroscopic medications, supporting improved therapeutic outcomes, study finds.
Food packaging can effectively maintain the quality of highly hygroscopic sodium valproate, even under stressed storage conditions, research suggests.
Yoshida et al. found that enhancing the barrier performance of one-dose packaging materials can improve the stability of hygroscopic medications.
This is because food packaging materials offer superior barrier properties compared to conventional cellophane-laminated polyethylene packaging.
no prior studies have directly evaluated the effect of barrier properties of one-dose packaging on medication stability”
This is of note because no prior studies have directly evaluated the effect of barrier properties of one-dose packaging on medication stability, the authors highlighted.
The active pharmaceutical ingredient sodium valproate was selected due to its chemically stability and the fact it is highly susceptible to rapid physical liquefaction when exposed to moisture.
Specifically, the team evaluated barrier performance against water vapor transmission (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rates for each packaging material. This data was then used to assess their potential to enhance stability of sodium valproate tablets at 35°C and 75 percent relative humidity during storage in different films.
The WVTR of the food packaging films were below 2 g/m2/day, less than that of the conventional material.
Material A and Material B showed weight increases for the tablets of no more than 1.2 percent after three days. However, the maximum increase among all food films was 3.7 percent (Material C).
Additionally, results showed that two food packaging materials maintained tablet integrity for 14 days with weight changes below 1.2 percent. The conventional material however, failed within three days.
The breaking force for Materials A and B remained measurable and demonstrated a consistent visual appearance over 14 days. On the other hand, Material C became unmeasurable by day 14.
WVTR can therefore be a useful measurement for evaluating the stability of hygroscopic pharmaceuticals in one-dose packaging.
As such, food packaging films are practical and effective alternatives for one-dose packaging, potentially improving medication adherence and clinical use.
The paper was published in Pharmaceuticals.
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