Pharmaceutical liquid crystals: the relevance of partially ordered systems

Pharmaceutical particle engineering via spray drying

This review covers recent developments in the area of particle engineering via spray drying. The last decade has seen a shift from empirical formulation efforts to an engineering approach based on a better understanding of particle formation in the spray drying process. Microparticles with nanoscale substructures can now be designed and their functionality has contributed significantly to stability and efficacy of the particulate dosage form. The review provides concepts and a theoretical framework for particle design calculations. It reviews experimental research into parameters that influence particle formation. A classification based on dimensionless numbers is presented that can be used to estimate how excipient properties in combination with process parameters influence the morphology of the engineered particles. A wide range of pharmaceutical application examples—low density particles, composite particles, microencapsulation, and glass stabilization—is discussed, with specific emphasis on the underlying particle formation mechanisms and design concepts.

A material science perspective of pharmaceutical solids

This review introduces the basic material science concepts and principles behind some common topics in the development of pharmaceutical solid formulations. The physiochemical properties of small organic pharmaceutical materials are summarized. Common phases, differences in phases, phase transitions, and their relation to pharmaceutical development are reviewed. The characteristics and physical nature of solid phases, including crystalline and amorphous solids, are presented in conjunction with some pharmaceutically relevant phenomena, such as polymorphism, phase transition kinetics, and relaxation. Mesophases, including liquid crystals and condis crystals, are introduced. The potential energy states of different phases are highlighted as the key connection between the physical nature of the materials and their pharmaceutical behavior, and energy landscape is employed to enhance the understanding of this relation.

Physical characterization of component particles included in dry powder inhalers. I. Strategy review and static characteristics

The performance of dry powder aerosols for the delivery of drugs to the lungs has been studied extensively in the last decade. The focus for different research groups has been on aspects of the powder formulation, which relate to solid state, surface and interfacial chemistry, bulk properties (static and dynamic) and measures of performance. The nature of studies in this field, tend to be complex and correlations between specific properties and performance seem to be rare. Consequently, the adoption of formulation approaches that on a predictive basis lead to desirable performance has been an elusive goal but one that many agree is worth striving towards. The purpose of this paper is to initiate a discussion of the use of a variety of techniques to elucidate dry particle behavior that might guide the data collection process. If the many researchers in this field can agree on this, or an alternative, guide then a database can be constructed that would allow predictive models to be developed. This is the first of two papers that discuss static and dynamic methods of characterizing dry powder inhaler formulations.

General Trends in the Desolvation Behavior of Calcium Salts

PURPOSE

This paper is concerned with the solid-state characterization of dehydrated calcium salts as well as the effect of dehydration on the physical properties of these salts.

METHODS

The salts were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), single crystal X-ray and polarized light microscopy (PLM).

RESULTS

Our research was able to identify three general behaviors of the desolvation of calcium salts of carboxylic acids. Upon desolvation, ethanolate and pentahydrate calcium indomethacin (CaIndo and CaInd2, respectively) stayed crystalline, fenoprofen calcium (CaFEN), calcium ketoprofen (CaKTN), calcium salicylate (CaSAL), calcium mefenamate (CaMEF) and calcium tolfenamate (CaTOLF) became mesophases, while calcium diflunisal became partially crystalline. On the other hand, the solubility studies of CaFEN, CaKTN and CaSAL showed that all dehydrated calcium salts had higher solubility than their crystalline counterparts and amorphous CaKTN had higher solubility than mesomorphous CaKTN.

CONCLUSIONS

Several factors influence the desolvation behavior of calcium salts. We believe the flexibility of the benzene rings in CaKTN, CaFEN, CaMEF and CaTOLF was important for these products to become mesomorphous when they loose their crystalline water; meanwhile, CaDIF where the two benzene rings are coplanar remained crystalline when heated. Additionally, the existence of water channels and the hydrogen bonding networks in the crystals is hypothesized to play an important role in the desolvation behavior of these materials.