Russian scientists have found a way to make one of the tuberculosis drugs much more effective. Researchers from the G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Ivanovo) were able to increase the solubility of the drug ethionamide by more than 300 times – this directly affects how well the drug is absorbed by the body.
Tuberculosis remains one of the most dangerous infections in the world. More than a million people die from it every year, and the situation is complicated by the emergence of drug-resistant strains.
Ethionamide is considered one of the drugs that still effectively work against the causative agents of the disease. However, the drug has a serious problem – it dissolves very poorly in water. Because of this, the body absorbs only a small part of the drug, so patients have to be prescribed increased dosages. And this increases the risk of side effects, especially for the liver and gastrointestinal tract.
Specialists from Ivanovo proposed to solve the problem with the help of so-called deep eutectic solvents. These are special mixtures of safe organic substances that help the drug dissolve better.
For experiments, scientists used substances that have long been used in medicine and cosmetics: choline chloride – vitamin B4, oxalic and malonic acids, glycerin, ethylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol.
The researchers created several variants of mixtures and checked how well ethionamide dissolved in them. The best result was shown by a combination of choline chloride, oxalic acid, and polyethylene glycol. In such a mixture, the drug dissolved 355 times better than in ordinary water.
The project leader, Candidate of Chemical Sciences Svetlana Blokhina, noted that the new approach will allow creating more effective and easily absorbed forms of anti-tuberculosis drugs. In addition, the technology can also be applied to other drugs with poor solubility.
The results of the study, supported by the RNF, were published in the scientific journal Journal of Molecular Liquids.
