Introduction: Antiretroviral medications are widely used to treat HIV infections. Lamivudine (3TC) is prescribed for HIV-1 infection management in adults and pediatrics, while valganciclovir (VGC) is a prodrug of ganciclovir derived from valine.
Methods: The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) estimates the contributions of intestinal permeability, dissolution, and solubility in oral drug absorption. Intestinal permeability refers to a substance's capacity to pass through the protective layer of cells in the intestine. The intestinal permeability of 3TC and VGC was analyzed and categorized using the singlepass intestinal perfusion technique according to the BCS in male Sprague Dawley rats, and a reversed-phase HPLC method was validated for precise and accurate measurement.
Results: According to the BCS, 3TC and VGC have been classified as having low permeability when compared to metoprolol tartrate, which is classified as Class I with good permeability and resolution.
Conclusion: The permeability values derived from this work can be valuable in exposure assessment models.
Keywords: Lamivudine, valganciclovir, antiretroviral drugs, single-pass intestinal perfusion, drug permeability, HIV infections.