9th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Presenter(s): Gitanjali Kerkar
Title: Pediatric Milk based Efavirenz Freeze-dried Nano-emulsion Formulation and Characterization
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Qinfeng Liu and Dr. Mali Gupta , College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Efavirenz (EFV) is an HIV-1 specific and a first choice anti-retroviral in adults and pediatric pharmacotherapy. Currently Efavirenz is available as a capsule (50 mg, 200 mg) and a tablet (600 mg) which is not a pediatric friendly formulation. The objective of this research is to formulate a pediatric milk-based freeze-dried nano-emulsion of efavirenz containing natural excipients for HIV therapy. The oil in water (o/w) nano-emulsion will be developed using non-fat milk as the aqueous phase and efavirenz with surfactant in medium chain triglycerides (MCT) as the non-aqueous phase. The emulsion will be formulated using homogenization, ultrasonication and freeze-drying method. The particle size of the freeze-dried powder formulation will be measured using the Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern) to obtain a size below 1000 nm. The final freeze-dried formulation will be characterized using powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), HPLC analysis, powder flow analysis and stability studies. The powder formulation will be suitable to administer by dissolving in water or milk-based drinks or sprinkled on food for oral administration in pediatric patients three months of age or older.