Diabetes mellitus is classified into two groups, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Since insulin resistance has been acquired in NIDDM patients, insulin, its analogues and sulfonylureas cannot lower serum glucose levels sufficiently. In addition, insulin resistance contributes to the hyperglycemic state in about 80-85% of patients with this disorder.1,2) Complication of diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia is associated with increasing the risk of atherosclerosis. Thiazolidinedione class of drugs (TZDs), such as rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, are new type of antidiabetic agents. TZDs significantly reduce fasting plasma glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity in NIDDM patients.3,4) Furthermore, TZDs were reported to improve lipid metabolism in NIDDM patients. 5,6) TZDs are reported to influence several processes that increase cell sensitivity to insulin, 7,8) including activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor g (PPARg), 9,10) although their mechanism has not been fully elucidated. TZDs are widely used in clinical practice, but in some cases they cause weight gain, plasma volume expansion, edema or hepatotoxicity.11,12) Because these unwelcome effects of TZDs are supposed to be due to activation of PPARg, various intensive attempts have been conducted to search drug candidates with potent antidiabetic and lipidlowering activities, but with low affinity to PPARg.2-(N-Cyanoimino)-5-{(E)-4-styrylbenzylidene}-4-oxothiazolidine (FPFS-410) (Fig. 1, molecular weight 331.4), a newly synthesized cyanoimino-oxothiazolidine with improving insulin sensitivity, has shown potent lowering effects on serum glucose and triglyceride at the preclinical stage. Furthermore, FPFS-410 has much less potency for PPARg activation compared with pioglitazone and does not cause body weight gain in rodents.13) Despite these valuable features, FPFS-410 exhibits an extremely low aqueous solubility (2.8 (Ϯ0.33)ϫ10Ϫ8 M (0.0094Ϯ0.0011 mg/ml) in 1.0 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 25°C), which is a drawback for its practical use.Cyclodextrins (CyDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides consisting of usually six, seven, or eight glucose units (a-, b-, gCyDs, respectively) bound by 1,4-glycosidic linkages. CyDs form inclusion complexes with lipophilic drugs and improve their water solubility, dissolution rate and bioavailability.14-16) However, the solubilization effect of CyDs on drugs is dependent on the interaction strength between guest and host molecules, i.e., cavity size of CyDs, spatial fitness of guest/host molecules, stoichiometry of complex, hydrophobicity of guest molecule, etc. Therefore, when a drug is to be formulated as CyD complex, it is important to select the most suitable CyD for the drug. Recently, various kinds of b-CyD derivatives have been developed to enhance the inclusion property and solubility of parent b-CyD and to improve pharmaceutical properties of drugs through the CyD
Improvement of Solubility and Oral Bioavailability of 2-(N-Cyanoimino)-5-...