Liquid-liquid miscibility gaps in drug-water binary systems: crystal structure and thermodynamic properties of prilocaine and the temperature-composition phase diagram of the prilocaine-water system

Anti-plasticizing effect of water on prilocaine and lidocaine - the role of the hydrogen bonding pattern

It is generally accepted that water, as an effective plasticizer, decreases the glass transition temperatures (Tgs) of amorphous drugs, potentially resulting in physical instabilities. However, recent studies suggest that water can also increase the Tgs of the amorphous forms of the drugs prilocaine (PRL) and lidocaine (LID), thus acting as an anti-plasticizer. To further understand the nature of the anti-plasticizing effect of water, interactions with different solvents and the resulting structural features of PRL and LID were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and quantum chemical simulations. Heavy water (deuterium oxides) was chosen as a solvent, as the deuterium and hydrogen atoms are electronically identical. It was found that substituting hydrogen with deuterium showed a minimal impact on the anti-plasticization of water on PRL. Ethanol and ethylene glycol were chosen as solvents to compare the hydrogen bonding patterns occurring between the hydroxyl groups of the solvents and PRL and LID. Comparison of the various Tgs showed a weaker anti-plasticizing potential of these two solvents on PRL and LID. The frequency shifts of the amide CO groups of PRL and LID due to the interactions with water, heavy water, ethanol, and ethylene glycol as observed in the FTIR spectra showed a correlation with the binding energies calculated by quantum chemical simulations. Overall, this study showed that the combination of weak hydrogen bonding and strong electrostatic contributions in hydrated PRL and LID could play an important role in inducing the anti-plasticizing effect of water on those drugs.

Influence of Water on Amorphous Lidocaine

Water is generally regarded as a universal plasticizer of amorphous drugs or amorphous drug-containing systems. A decrease in glass-transition temperature (T_g) is considered the general result of this plasticizing effect. A recent study exhibits that water can increase the T_g of amorphous prilocaine (PRL) and thus shows an anti-plasticizing effect. The structurally similar drug lidocaine (LID) might show similar interactions with water, and thus an anti-plasticizing effect of water is hypothesized to also occur in amorphous LID. However, the influence of water on the T_g of LID cannot be determined directly due to the very low stability of LID in the amorphous form. It is possible to predict the T_g of LID from a co-amorphous system of PRL-LID using the Gordon-Taylor equation. Interactions were observed between PRL and LID based on the deviations between the experimental T_gs and the T_gs calculated by the conventional use of the Gordon-Taylor equation. A modified use of the Gordon-Taylor equation was applied using the optimal co-amorphous system as a separate component and the excess drug as the other component. The predicted T_g of fully hydrated LID could thus be determined and was found to be increased by 0.9 ± 0.7 K compared with the T_g of water-free amorphous LID. It could be shown that water exhibited a small anti-plasticizing effect on LID.

Revealing the roles of polymers in supersaturation stabilization from the perspective of crystallization behaviors: A case of nimodipine

Formulating drugs into amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) represents an attractive means to enhance the aqueous solubility of drugs. Furthermore, water-soluble polymers have proven highly advantageous for stabilizing supersaturated solutions of ASDs. However, the performance and mechanism of various polymers in stabilizing supersaturated drug solutions have not been well-studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different commercial polymers on the dissolution behaviors and supersaturation stabilization of the ASDs and to further explore the mechanism of polymer mediated supersaturation maintenance by studying the crystallization behaviors of the ASDs. In this study, nimodipine (NMD) was used as a model drug because of its poor water-solubility and fast crystallization rate in aqueous solution, and three polymers polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (PVP VA), and polyvinyl caprolactam-polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene glycol graft co-polymer (Soluplus) was selected as the drug carriers to form the ASDs with NMD. Solid-state characterizations of the ASDs confirmed the amorphous state of the ASD systems. ASD_{PVP VA} demonstrated superior supersaturation maintenance in dissolution experiments compared to the other two ASD systems. Among the polymers tested, PVP VA most efficiently maintained dissolution of NMD and prevented its crystallization from the supersaturated solution. The ability of PVP VA to most-effectively maintain supersaturation of the drug was manifested by inhibition of crystal nucleation rather than inhibition of crystal growth following nucleation. These results suggest that nucleation inhibition was instrumental in enabling the polymer-mediated supersaturation maintenance, at least with NMD.

Tuning molecular dynamics by hydration and confinement: antiplasticizing effect of water in hydrated prilocaine nanoclusters

In glass-forming substances, the addition of water tends to produce the effect of lowering the glass transition temperature, Tg. In a previous work by some of us (Ruiz et al., Sci. Rep., 2017, 7, 7470) we reported on a rare anti-plasticizing effect of water on the molecular dynamics of a simple molecular system, the pharmaceutically active prilocaine molecule, for which the addition of water leads to an increase of Tg. In the present work, we study pure and hydrated prilocaine confined in 0.5 nm and 1 nm pore size molecular sieves, and carry out a comparison with the bulk compounds in order to gain a better understanding of the microscopic mechanisms that result in this rare effect. We find that the Tg of the drug under nanometric confinement can be lower than the bulk value by as much as 17 K. Through the concurrent use of differential scanning calorimetry and broadband dielectric spectroscopy we are able to observe the antiplasticizing effect of water in prilocaine also under nanometric confinement, finding an increase of Tg of up to almost 6 K upon hydration. The extension of our analysis to nanoconfined systems provides a plausible explanation for the very uncommon antiplasticizing effect, based on the formation of water-prilocaine molecular complexes. Moreover, this study deepens the understanding of the behavior of drugs under confinement, which is of relevance not only from a fundamental point of view, but also for practical applications such as drug delivery.

Genuine antiplasticizing effect of water on a glass-former drug

Water is the most important plasticizer of biological and organic hydrophilic materials, which generally exhibit enhanced mechanical softness and molecular mobility upon hydration. The enhancement of the molecular dynamics upon mixing with water, which in glass-forming systems implies a lower glass transition temperature (T_g), is considered a universal result of hydration. In fact, even in the cases where hydration or humidification of an organic glass-forming sample result in stiffer mechanical properties, the molecular mobility of the sample almost always increases with increasing water content, and its T_g decreases correspondingly. Here, we present an experimental report of a genuine antiplasticizing effect of water on the molecular dynamics of a small-molecule glass former. In detail, we show that addition of water to prilocaine, an active pharmaceutical ingredient, has the same effect as that of an applied pressure, namely, a decrease in mobility and an increase of T_g. We assign the antiplasticizing effect to the formation of prilocaine-H₂O dimers or complexes with enhanced hydrogen bonding interactions.

Physical chemistry of supersaturated solutions and implications for oral absorption

Amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) formulations are widely used for delivery of poorly soluble drugs for dissolution enhancement and bioavailability improvement. When administered, ASDs often exhibit fast dissolution to yield supersaturated solutions. The physical chemistry of these supersaturated solutions is not well understood. This review will discuss the concepts of solubility, supersaturation, and the connection to membrane transport rate. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), which occurs when the amorphous solubility is exceeded, leading to solutions with interesting properties is extensively discussed as a phenomenon that is relevant to all enabling formulations. The multiple physical processes occurring during dissolution of the ASD and during oral absorption are analyzed. The beneficial reservoir effect of a system that has undergone LLPS is demonstrated, both experimentally and conceptually. It is believed that formulations that rapidly supersaturate and subsequently undergo LLPS, with maintenance of the supersaturation at this maximum value throughout the absorption process, i.e. those that exhibit "spring and plateau" behavior, will give superior performance in terms of absorption.

The principles underlying the use of powder diffraction data in solving pharmaceutical crystal structures

Solving pharmaceutical crystal structures from powder diffraction data is discussed in terms of the methodologies that have been applied and the complexity of the structures that have been solved. The principles underlying these methodologies are summarized and representative examples of polymorph, solvate, salt and cocrystal structure solutions are provided, together with examples of some particularly challenging structure determinations.

Benzocaine polymorphism: pressure-temperature phase diagram involving forms II and III

Understanding the phase behavior of an active pharmaceutical ingredient in a drug formulation is required to avoid the occurrence of sudden phase changes resulting in decrease of bioavailability in a marketed product. Benzocaine is known to possess three crystalline polymorphs, but their stability hierarchy has so far not been determined. A topological method and direct calorimetric measurements under pressure have been used to construct the topological pressure-temperature diagram of the phase relationships between the solid phases II and III, the liquid, and the vapor phase. In the process, the transition temperature between solid phases III and II and its enthalpy change have been determined. Solid phase II, which has the highest melting point, is the more stable phase under ambient conditions in this phase diagram. Surprisingly, solid phase I has not been observed during the study, even though the scarce literature data on its thermal behavior appear to indicate that it might be the most stable one of the three solid phases.