Activated charcoal dispersion of carbon monoxide prodrugs for oral delivery of CO in a pill.

A novel orally bioavailable solid formulation to deliver a gaseous signaling molecule, carbon monoxide (CO), was developed by adsorbing oxalyl saccharin, a newly developed organic CO prodrug, in activated charcoal (AC). The resulting solid dispersion formulation addresses key developability issues of this CO prodrug. By taking advantage of the large surface area of AC, the paradoxical problem of low water solubility of the prodrug and the requirement of hydrolysis to release CO is resolved, and the need for an organic cosolvent is completely circumvented. The AC formulation also mitigates the adverse effect of low pH on the CO release yield, allowing steady CO release in simulated gastric and intestine fluids. This formulation allows encapsulation in normal and enteric-coated gel capsules, which enables controllable CO delivery to the upper or lower GI system. It also features an advantage of trapping CO prodrug and CO release product in the AC, therefore lowering systemic absorption of these chemicals. Through in-vivo pharmacokinetic studies in mice, the AC formulation showed better efficiency of delivering CO through oral administration compared to the prodrug dosed with an organic cosolvent. The AC formulation has also been applied to address similar developability issues of another cheletropic reaction-based CO prodrug. We envision the wide applicability of this formulation in facilitating the future development of CO-based therapeutics.