in preparing the pancreatic enzymes / bile salt containing microspheres of the present invention utilizing the extrusion , uni - sizer and marumerization process ( later described ) moisture must be included in the liquid or solvent - adhesive composition to render the adhesive polymer sticky enough to bind the enzymes / bile salt - containing fluffy powder into a pliable , solid mass . this prevents the crumbling of the microspheres during the drying and coating steps as well as allows the preparation of much smaller particle size microspheres , i . e . in the range of 10 to 80 mesh . accordingly , it was found that the moisture level during the preparation of the composition should be in the range of from about 0 . 2 % w / w to about 2 . 5 % w / w , preferably , in the range of 0 . 2 % w / w to 1 . 5 % w / w , and most preferably in the range of 0 . 2 % w / w to 1 . 0 % w / w . when the compositions contained such amounts of moisture , the microspheres were found to be stable on aging and biological activity was preserved as long as the moisture level did not exceed about 2 . 5 % w / w of the total composition . further reference is now made to the process of preparing compositions of the present invention . 1 ) blending the dry , powdery ingredients together in a conventional blender and wetting the composition with a suitable liquid composition , hereinbefore described , that causes the dry blend to stick together . the stickiness of the blend can be tested by compressing a handful of the blend in the palm of the hand . if the composition is compressible and sticks together but readily crumbles when squeezed between the fingers , sufficient liquid has been added to the composition for processing in the subsequent granulation step . 2 ) granulating or extruding the liquid moistened composition through a 10 or a 18 mesh s / s screen using an oscillating / reciprocating granulator or a twin - screw extruder at a medium - to - high speed . 3 ) classifying the granulated particles in a so - called &# 34 ; uni - sizer vessel &# 34 ; that rotates at 15 to 45 rpm for about 5 to 10 minutes . ( the particles in the &# 34 ; unisizer vessel &# 34 ; are converted to a uniform diameter particle size .) 4 ) compacting the uniform particles in a marumerizer , ( a cylindrical vessel with a rotating disk at the bottom ) for about 15 to 70 seconds . an alternative method of compacting the microspheres can also be achieved in a rotating conventional coating pan . in this case , the particles are tumbled in the pan for about 15 to 30 minutes , occasionally wetting the particles with a fine mist of the liquid composition . 5 ) drying the spherical particles in an oven under a stream of warm and dry air not exceeding 35 ° c . and 40 % relative humidity . 6 ) separating the microspheres according to the desired sizes using u . s . standard sieve screens . 7 ) coating the desired and classified microspheres ( for example , in the 16 to 20 mesh and separately in the 30 to 60 mesh size range ) with an acid - resistant polymer in fluidized bed coating equipment , or in a conventional coating pan according to standard operating procedures as described in the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instruction manual . 8 ) drying the polymer coated microspheres in an oven under a stream of warm and dry air not exceeding 35 ° c . and 40 % relative humidity until all the volatile substances ( moisture and solvents ) are removed . the following examples will further serve to illustrate the compositions of the present invention wherein the compositions and the process of preparing them will be described with reference to microsphere forms ; however , it is to be noted that the microtablet form of the composition and the process of making it is also intended to be covered by the present invention . the process of making the microtablet form of the composition is analogous to that of making the microspheres with the exception that the 40 to 80 mesh particles are compressed together into microtablets of 0 . 5 mm to 2 . 5 mm with a suitable tablet press and polymer coated , and should be understood by those skilled in the art . ______________________________________ingredients % w / w______________________________________disintegrant 0 . 9 - 16 % salt of bile acid 0 . 3 - 13 % buffering agent ( anhydrous ) 0 . 8 - 5 % enzymes 90 . 0 - 71 % adhesive polymer 0 . 3 - 19 % polymer coat / talc mixture 7 . 0 - 15 % ______________________________________ ______________________________________ iia ( uncoated ) iib ( coated ) ingredients % w / w % w / w______________________________________disintegrant 3 . 0 2 . 7sodium ursodeoxycholic acid 5 . 3 4 . 7buffering agent ( anhydrous ) 1 . 0 0 . 9enzymes 89 . 3 79 . 7adhesive polymer 1 . 4 1 . 3polymer coat / talc mixture 10 . 7______________________________________ ______________________________________ iiia ( uncoated ) iiib ( coated ) ingredients % w / w % w / w______________________________________disintegrant 3 . 0 2 . 7sodium - ursodeoxycholic acid 5 . 3 4 . 7buffering agent ( anhydrous ) 1 . 0 0 . 9enzymes 89 . 3 79 . 7adhesive polymer 1 . 4 1 . 3polymer coat / talc mixture 10 . 7______________________________________ ______________________________________ iva ( uncoated ) ivb ( coated ) ingredients % w / w % w / w______________________________________disintegrant 2 . 0 1 . 8potassium - ursodeoxycholic acid 1 . 5 1 . 4buffering agent ( anhydrous ) 2 . 0 1 . 8enzymes 90 . 5 83 . 1adhesive polymer 4 . 0 3 . 6polymer coat / talc mixture 8 . 3______________________________________ ______________________________________ingredients % w / w______________________________________bile salt starting seed ( 20 - 40 mesh ) 12 . 8 % disintegrant 2 . 3 % buffering agent ( anhydrous ) 2 . 1 % enzymes 65 . 0 % adhesive polymer mixture 7 . 1polymer coat / talc mixture 10 . 7______________________________________ the bile salt starting seeds in example v were prepared as outlined in example vii . suitable bile acids , bile salts and bile acid esters to prepare starting seeds in the particle size range of 20 - 60 mesh are : ursodeoxycholic acid ; sodium , potassium and ammonium salts of ursodeoxycholic acid ; ethyl and propyl esters of ursodeoxycholic acid ; glycyl and tauroursodeoxycholic acid ; sodium , potassium and ammonium salts of glycyl and tauroursodeoxycholate ; n - methyl glycyl ursodeoxycholate and n - methyl tauroursodeoxycholate . table i______________________________________distribution of the microspheres according to sizes example iib example iiibmesh size ( mm ) microspheres (%) microspheres (%) ______________________________________10 2 . 00 -- 3 . 520 0 . 84 10 . 0 57 . 040 0 . 42 53 . 8 32 . 760 0 . 25 28 . 6 5 . 280 0 . 177 7 . 6 1 . 6______________________________________ table ii______________________________________moisture content & amp ; stability of the microspheres iib iiib moisture stability moisture stabilitymesh size content (%) ( 4 mo . )* content (%) ( 4 mo . )* ______________________________________20 1 . 1 99 % 1 . 6 98 % 40 0 . 9 98 % 1 . 9 96 % 60 0 . 8 100 % 2 . 5 95 % 80 0 . 9 98 % 2 . 7 85 % ______________________________________ * lipase , amylase and protease activities assayed according to usp xxii . in general , udca was converted to the sodium or potassium salt ( na - udca , k - udca ) by dissolving udca in a suitable solvent and titrated with a water soluble alkaline hydroxide , carbonate or bicarbonate solutions ( e . g . sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , sodium bicarbonate , potassium hydroxide , potassium carbonate , potassium bicarbonate solutions , etc .) until the ph has reached ph 8 . 6 . the solvent was removed by evaporation or by distillation and the udca - salt was recovered from the media by spray drying or by lyophilizing the remaining solution . in a more detailed process , 20 g of udca was dissolved in 100 ml of alcohol ( methanol , ethanol , isopropanol or an other suitable alcohol that was easily removed after udca has been neutralized ) and a 10 %- 30 % solution of hydroxide , bicarbonate or carbonate solution of na , k , etc . was added to the reaction mixture , with rigorous mixing . the udca solution was titrated until the ph reached 8 . 6 . the alcohol was removed from the reaction mixture on a rotary evaporator , and the aqueous solution was processed to recover the solid na - udca by lyophilization or by spray - drying . in a modified procedure , a cation exchange resin in the sodium form ( amberlite irc - 72 ) was used to prepare the na - udca . the resin was suspended in methanol . the methanol / cation exchange resin was poured into a 4 cm × 40 cm column and washed with 500 ml of methanol to remove traces of water . a 5 % solution of udca in methanol was passed through the resin , followed by washing the column with 200 ml of methanol . the eluent was collected , the methanol evaporated and the na - udca was collected as fine crystals . ______________________________________ % w / w______________________________________bile salt 60 . 7disintegrant 16 . 0buffering agent 4 . 6adhesive polymer 18 . 7______________________________________ the process of making the bile salt - containing starting seeds consisted off 1 ) blending the bile salt , disintegrant and the buffering agent together for 10 minutes ; 2 ) spraying the composition with the adhesive polymer mixture until the powdery blend agglomerated ; and 3 ) granulating or extruding the liquid moistened composition through a 10 or 18 mesh s / s screen using an oscillating / reciprocating granulator or a twin - screw extruder . the subsequent processing steps were the same as outlined in steps ( 3 ) through ( 6 ) in the &# 34 ; detailed description of the invention &# 34 ;. suitable disintegrant in examples i through v and example vii are : explotab ( mendell , inc . ), microcrystalline cellulose , and propylene glycol alginate ( kelco co .) suitable buffering agents in examples i through v and example vii are : sodium carbonate ( anhydrous ), sodium bicarbonate , potassium carbonate , potassium bicarbonate , ammonium carbonate , tromethamine , diethanolamine and triethanolamine . suitable enzymes in examples i through v and example vii are : pancreatin , pancrelipase and pancreatin concentrates of high potency . suitable bile salts in examples i through v and example vii are : sodium and potassium salts of ursodeoxycholate , glycyl and taurine ursodeoxycholate , n - methyl glycyl and n - methyl tauroursodeoxycholate , and organic complexes of tromethamine , diethanolamine and triethanolamine of ursodeoxycholate , glycyl and taurine ursodeoxycholate and n - methyl glycyl and n - methyltaurine ursodeoxycholate . suitable adhesive polymeric agents in example i through v and example vii are : hydroxypropyl cellulose ( klucel hf , hercules co . ), polyvinyl pyrrolidone ( plasdone , gaf co . ), a 60 : 40 blend of methyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose ( dow chem . co . ), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ( grades 50 and 55 , eastman kodak co . ), cellulose acetate phthalate ( eastman kodak co .) and propylene glycol alginate ( kelco co .). suitable acid - resistant polymers to coat the microspheres in example i through v and example vii are : hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate , grades 50 and 55 ( eastman kodak co ., or shin - etsu chemical co ., ltd . ), aquateric ® aqueous enteric coating polymer dispersion ( fmc corp . ), eudragit ® acrylic based polymeric dispersion ( rohm pharma gmbh , germany ), and cellulose acetate phthalate ( eastman kodak co .). ______________________________________ % w / w______________________________________hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate * 7 . 4diethyl phthalate 2 . 02 - propanol 45 . 2ethylacetate 45 . 2talc , usp 0 . 2______________________________________ * when the hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate was replaced with cellulose acetate phthalate an equally suitable acidresistant polymer coating was obtained , as long as , talc was also included in the composition . the presence of talc with the film forming polymer caused th deposition of an acidimpermeable polymer coat . when aquateric ® or eudragit ® aqueous enteric coating polymer dispersion was employed in place of cellulose acetate phthalate ( cap ) or hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose phthalate ( hpmcp ), the microspheres were first sealed with an initial thin layer coating with cap or hpmcp ( 2 - 4 % w / w of the microspheres ), followed by a secondary coating with an aqueous polymeric latex disperson ( for example , aquateric ® or eudragit ®). the employment of the aqueous coating composition as a secondary coating is important to reduce the evaporation of solvents into the atmosphere and thus reduce environmental pollution . the total amount of the composition required to be administered to an enzyme / bile salt deficient patient will vary with the severity of the conditions , age and other physical characteristics of the patient . the physicians will prescribe the total amount , the dosage and the frequency of dosage administration on a patient by patient basis . generally , for enzyme / bile salt deficient patient from about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 5 grams of the composition are administered with each major meal , three times a day . larger amount may , however , be required for certain conditions , such as for dissolving gallstones . for ease of administration of the compositions it is preferred to use gelatin capsules containing about 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 grams microspheres or microtablets . gelatin capsules which disintegrate in the acidic environment of the stomach are well - known and utilized in the prior art . microtablets are of small size , having a diameter between about 1 to 5 mm and a thickness between 0 . 5 to 4 mm . the microtablet is prepared by conventional tableting procedure . however , the compositions of the present invention in the form of very small particle sizes may be used per se . the microspheres shown in example iib and iiib ( table i ) are in the 10 to 80 mesh size range . table i shows that 100 % of the microspheres of example iib were in the 20 mesh to 80 mesh size range ( 0 . 84 to 0 . 149 mm ) and 89 . 7 % of the coated particles iiib were in the range of 20 to 40 mesh size range ( 0 . 84 to 0 . 42 mm ). young children or adults with certain diseases are unable to swallow big gelatin capsules . microspheres of very small size of the present invention could then be administered to the patients with liquid food , such as milk , apple sauce and semi - solid foods .
disclosed are gastric acid - resistant polymer - coated digestive enzymes / ursodeoxycholate compositions , process for their preparations and methods of treating digestive disorders , treating impaired liver function , treating cystic fibrosis , regulating the absorption of dietary cholesterol , and for dissolving gallstones by administering the compositions to a mammal in need of such treatment .