Preparation of glass solutions of three poorly water soluble drugs by spray drying, melt extrusion and ball milling

Investigation of preparation methods on surface/bulk structural relaxation and glass fragility of amorphous solid dispersions

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of preparation methods on the surface/bulk molecular mobility and glass fragility of solid dispersions. Solid dispersions containing indomethacin and PVP K30 were chosen as the model system. An inverse gas chromatography method was used to determine the surface structural relaxation of the solid dispersions and these data were compared to those for bulk relaxation obtained by DSC. The values of τ(β) for the surface relaxation were 4.6, 7.1 and 1.8h for melt quenched, ball milled and spray dried solid dispersions respectively, compared to 15.6, 7.9 and 9.8h of the bulk. In all systems, the surface had higher molecular mobility than the bulk. The glass fragility of the solid dispersions was also influenced by the preparation methods with the most fragile system showing the best stability. The zero mobility temperature (T(0)) was used to correlate with the physical stability of the solid dispersions. Despite having similar T(g) (65°C), the T(0) of the melt quenched, ball milled and spray dried samples were 21.6, -4.2 and 16.7°C respectively which correlated well with their physical stability results. Therefore, T(0) appears to be a better indicator than T(g) for predicting stability of amorphous materials.

Use of Placket-Burman statistical design to study effect of formulation variables on the release of drug from hot melt sustained release extrudates

The present paper was focused on exploiting Plackett-Burman design to screen the effect of nine factors--poly (ethylene oxide) molecular weight (X(1)), poly (ethylene oxide) amount (X(2)), ethylcellulose amount (X(4)), drug solubility (X(5)), drug amount (X(6)), sodium chloride amount (X(7)), citric acid amount (X(8)), polyethylene glycol amount (X(9)), and glycerin amount (X(11)) on the release of drugs from the extended release extrudates, i.e., release rate and release mechanism. The experiments were carried out according to a nine-factor 12-run statistical model and subjected to an 8-h dissolution study in phosphate buffer pH 6.8. The significance of the model was indicated by the ANOVA and the residual analysis. Poly (ethylene oxide) amount, ethylcellulose amount and drug solubility had significant effect on the T90 values whereas poly (ethylene oxide) amount and ethylcellulose amount had significant effect on the n value.

The Role of Configurational Entropy in Amorphous Systems

Configurational entropy is an important parameter in amorphous systems. It is involved in the thermodynamic considerations, plays an important role in the molecular mobility calculations through its appearance in the Adam-Gibbs equation and provides information on the solubility increase of an amorphous form compared to its crystalline counterpart. This paper presents a calorimetric method which enables the scientist to quickly determine the values for the configurational entropy at any temperature and obtain the maximum of information from these measurements.

Investigation of the milling-induced thermal behavior of crystalline and amorphous griseofulvin

PURPOSE

To gain a better understanding of the physical state and the unusual thermal behavior of milled griseofulvin.

METHODS

Griseofulvin crystals and amorphous melt quench samples were milled in a vibrating ball mill for different times and then analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Modulated DSC (mDSC) and annealing studies were done for the milled amorphous samples to further probe the effects of milling.

RESULTS

Milling of griseofulvin crystals results in decrease in crystallinity and amorphization of the compound. A double peak is seen for crystallization in the DSC, which is also seen for the milled melt quench sample. Both enthalpy and temperature of crystallization decrease for the milled melt quenched sample. Tg is visible under the first peak with the mDSC, and annealing shows that increasing milling time results in faster crystallization upon storage.

CONCLUSION

Milling of griseofulvin results in the formation of an amorphous form and not a mesophase. It increases the amount of surface created and the overall energy of the amorphous griseofulvin, which leads to a decreased temperature of crystallization. The two exotherms in the DSC are due to some particles having nuclei on the surface.

Fusion processing of itraconazole solid dispersions by kinetisol dispersing: a comparative study to hot melt extrusion

KinetiSol Dispersing (KSD) is a novel high energy manufacturing process investigated here for the production of pharmaceutical solid dispersions. Solid dispersions of itraconazole (ITZ) and hypromellose were produced by KSD and compared to identical formulations produced by hot melt extrusion (HME). Materials were characterized for solid state properties by modulated differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Dissolution behavior was studied under supersaturated conditions. Oral bioavailability was determined using a Sprague-Dawley rat model. Results showed that KSD was able to produce amorphous solid dispersions in under 15 s while production by HME required over 300 s. Dispersions produced by KSD exhibited single phase solid state behavior indicated by a single glass transition temperature (T(g)) whereas compositions produced by HME exhibited two T(g)s. Increased dissolution rates for compositions manufactured by KSD were also observed compared to HME processed material. Near complete supersaturation was observed for solid dispersions produced by either manufacturing processes. Oral bioavailability from both processes showed enhanced AUC compared to crystalline ITZ. Based on the results presented from this study, KSD was shown to be a viable manufacturing process for the production of pharmaceutical solid dispersions, providing benefits over conventional techniques including: enhanced mixing for improved homogeneity and reduced processing times.

A facile nanoaggregation strategy for oral delivery of hydrophobic drugs by utilizing acid-base neutralization reactions

Nanonization strategies have been used to enhance the oral availability of numerous drugs that are poorly soluble in water. Exploring a facile nanonization strategy with highly practical potential is an attractive focus. Here, we report a novel facile nanoaggregation strategy for constructing drug nanoparticles of poorly soluble drugs with pH-dependent solubility by utilizing acid-base neutralization in aqueous solution, thus facilitating the exploration of nanonization in oral delivery for general applicability. We demonstrate that hydrophobic itraconazole dissolved in acid solution formed a growing core and aggregated into nanoparticles in the presence of stabilizers. The nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 279.3 nm and polydispersity index of 0.116, showed a higher dissolution rate when compared with the marketed formulation; the average dissolution was about 91.3%. The in vivo pharmacokinetic studies revealed that the nanoparticles had a rapid absorption and enhanced oral availability. The diet state also showed insignificant impact on the absorption of itraconazole from nanoparticles. This nanoaggregation strategy is a promising nanonization method with a facile process and avoidance of toxic organic solvents for oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs with pH-dependent solubility and reveals a highly practical potential in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Advances in solid dosage form manufacturing technology

Currently, the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries are moving through a period of unparalleled change. Major multinational pharmaceutical companies are restructuring, consolidating, merging and more importantly critically assessing their competitiveness to ensure constant growth in an ever-more demanding market where the cost of developing novel products is continuously increasing. The pharmaceutical manufacturing processes currently in existence for the production of solid oral dosage forms are associated with significant disadvantages and in many instances provide many processing problems. Therefore, it is well accepted that there is an increasing need for alternative processes to dramatically improve powder processing, and more importantly to ensure that acceptable, reproducible solid dosage forms can be manufactured. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are beginning to invest in innovative processes capable of producing solid dosage forms that better meet the needs of the patient while providing efficient manufacturing operations. This article discusses two emerging solid dosage form manufacturing technologies, namely hot-melt extrusion and fluidized hot-melt granulation.