Abstract

The problem in this work is the computational characterization of cyclodextrins, crown ethers and hyaluronan (HA) as hosts of inclusion complexes for nanosized drug delivery vehicles in pharmaceutical formulations. The difficulty is addressed through a computational study of some thermodynamic, geometric and topological properties of the hosts. The calculated properties of oligosaccharides of D-glucopyranoses allow these to act as co-solvents of polyanions in water. In crown ethers, the central channel is computed. Mucoadhesive polymer HA in formulations releases drugs in mucosas. Geometric, topological and fractal analyses are carried out with code TOPO. Reference calculations are performed with code GEPOL. From HA to HA·3Ca and hydrate, the hydrophilic solvent-accessible surface varies with the count of H-bonds. The fractal dimension rises. The dimension of external atoms rises resulting 1.725 for HA. It rises going to HA·3Ca and hydrate. Nonburied minus molecular dimension rises and decays. Hydrate globularity is lower than O(water), Ca²⁺ and O(HA). Ca²⁺ rugosity is smaller than for hydrate, O(HA) and O(water). Ca²⁺ and O(water) accessibilities are greater than hydrate. Conclusions are drawn on: (1) the relative stability of linear/cyclic and shorter/larger polymers; (2) the atomic analysis of properties allows determining the atoms with maximum reactivity.

Keywords: Drug delivery system, Fractal dimension, Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, Inclusion complex, Medicine absorption, Medicine delivery, Metal hyaluronate, mucosa.

Graphical Abstract