Enhanced solubility and bioavailability of pioglitazone nanosuspension

Pioglitazone hydrochloride, a hypoglycemic agent, is a BCS class II drug with low solubility and thus, limited bioavailability. In the present study, nanosuspension of pioglitazone was prepared by high pressure homogenization using different stabilizers at different concentrations (0.25 to 3.0% w/v) and optimized and characterized for particle size, zeta potential, drug content, FT-IR and DSC analysis. The particle size of the optimized nanosuspension stabilized with 1% tween 80 (coded as NS17) was observed to be 433 nm and zeta potential of −36.76 mV indicated good physical stability. The nanoformulation was also found to be stable during storage of 30 days at 2–8 °C. The optimized nanosuspension, NS17 showed increased solubility, in vitro dissolution rate and improved pharmacokinetics in Wistar rats as compared to the marketed formulation.