• Application of Gelucire as Carrier for Solid Dispersion: a Literature Review
  • Mostafa Amirinejad,1,* Reza Abdollahzadeh,2
    1. Student Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
    2. Student Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.


  • Introduction: Gelucires are Polyethylene glycol glycerides which can be composed of PEG mono- or diesters and mono-, di-, or triglycerides. They are inert semi-solid amphiphilic excipients which can form a fine emulsion or solid dispersion upon contact with water. Gelucire different varieties are characterized by HLB values and melting point. Lipophilic drugs are insoluble or practically insoluble in water, hence their bioavailability must be considered as a usage limitation. Solid dispersion process with carriers which have high HLB values, has been known as a method for aqueous solubility improvement. As solid dispersion of lipophilic drugs with gelucires can potentially enhance their water solubility, the solid dispersion is investigated in many studies. In the current paper, application of gelucire as a solid dispersion carrier for lipophilic drugs is reviewed.
  • Methods: Internet based searches were performed June 2020 in PubMed and Scopus, using identified keywords. This search had considered papers which had been published in English and Persian, regardless of study design, for any condition and in any form.
  • Results: A total number of 31 studies were reviewed, in which solid dispersion of albendazole, allopurinol, α-tocopherol, artemisinin, bosentan, carvedilol, celecoxib, cinnarizine, diclofenac, etoricoxib, everolimus, flufenamic acid, flurbiprofen, indomethacin, lorataine, lornoxicam, meloxicam, naproxen, piroxicam, progesterone, saquinavir, spironolactone, temazepam, tiaprofenic acid, UC-781 and ursolic acid with gelucire 50/13 or gelucire 44/14, using various solid dispersion methods including solvent evaporation, co-grinding, co-precipitation, kneading, spray-drying and melting methods were studied. According to Fourier transform infrared spectrograms, depending to the drug, formation of a significant interaction between gelucire and the drugs might be possible. Quantitative evidence demonstrated that X-Ray diffractograms of the solid dispersions were smoothened comparing with the pure drugs and peak of drug melting point was not observed in differential scanning calorimetry thermograms which means that the solid dispersion process with gelucire decreased drugs crystallinity and improved their wettability. Solubility of the drugs was increased in both acidic (pH 1.0-1.2) and neutral (pH 6.8-7.4) after solid dispersion with gelucire. Moreover, dissolution studies indicated that the produced solid dispersions can be dissolved faster than the pure drugs in both simulated intestinal fluid and simulated gastric fluid. Furthermore, in vivo studies revealed that solid dispersion with gelucire was potentially useful for improving bioavailability of drugs.
  • Conclusion: On the basis of the study results, it can be concluded that utilizing gelucire as solid dispersion carrier, can be considered as an efficient method for bioavailability improvement of the water insoluble or poorly water soluble drugs. Further researches are suggested to be studied on gelucire potential application as solid dispersion carrier and the solid dispersion
  • Keywords: Gelucire; Solid Dispersion; Carrier; Bioavailability