Pharmaceutical cocrystals: a rising star in drug delivery applications

Pharmaceutical cocrystals, owing to their manifold applications, are acting as bridge between drug discovery and pharmaceutical product development. The ability to scale up pharmaceutical cocrystals through continuous manufacturing approaches offers superior and economic pharmaceutical products. Moreover, cocrystals can be an aid for the nanoparticulate systems to solve the issues related to scale-up and cost. Cocrystals grabbed attention of academic researchers and pharmaceutical scientist due to their potential to target various diseases like cancer. The present review is mainly focussed on the diverse and comprehensive applications of pharmaceutical cocrystals in drug delivery including solubility and dissolution enhancement, improvement of bioavailability of drug, mechanical and flow properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients, controlled/sustained release and colour tuning of API. Besides, phytochemical based cocrystals, multi-drug cocrystals and cocrystals for tumour therapy have been discussed in this review. Additionally, recent progress pertinent to pharmaceutical cocrystals is also included, which may provide future directions to manufacturing and scale-up of cocrystals.

Polymorphism of Pradofloxacin: Crystal Structure Analysis, Stability Study, and Phase Transformation Behavior

PURPOSE

Pradofloxacin is an important antibiotic with poor physical stability. At present, there is no systematic study on its polymorphic form. The purpose of this study is to develop new crystal forms to improve the stability of Pradofloxacin and systematically study the crystal transformation relationships to guide industrial production.

METHOD

In this work, three solvent-free forms (Form A, Form B and Form C), a new dimethyl sulfoxide solvate (Form PL-DMSO) and a new hydrate (Form PL-H) were successfully obtained and the single crystal data of Form A, Form B and Form PL-DMSO were solved for the first time. Various solid state analysis techniques and slurry experiments have been used to evaluate the stability and determine phase transformation relationships of five crystal forms, the analysis of crystal structure provided theoretical support for the results.

RESULT

The water vapor adsorption and desorption experiences of Forms A, B, C and Form PL-H were studied, and the results show that the new hydrate has good hygroscopic stability and certain development potential. The thermal stability of different forms was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the crystal structure shows that there are more hydrogen bonds and C - H···π interactions in form B, which is the reason why Form B is more stable than form A. Finally, the phase transformation relationships of the five crystal forms were systematically studied and discussed.

CONCLUSION

These results are helpful to provide guiding methods in the production and storage of pradofloxacin.

Polymorphs with Remarkably Distinct Physical and/or Chemical Properties

Polymorphism in crystals is known since 1822 and the credit goes to Mitscherlich who realized the existence of different crystal structures of the same compound while working with some arsenate and phosphate salts. Later on, this phenomenon was observed also in organic crystals. With the advent of different technologies, especially the easy availability of single crystal XRD instruments, polymorphism in crystals has become a common phenomenon. Almost 37 % of compounds (single component) are polymorphic to date. As the energies of the different polymorphic forms are very close to each other, small changes in crystallization conditions might lead to different polymorphic structures. As a result, sometimes it is difficult to control polymorphism. For this reason, it is considered to be a nuisance to crystal engineering. It has been realized that the property of a material depends not only on the molecular structure but also on its crystal structure. Therefore, it is not only of interest to academia but also has widespread applications in the materials science as well as pharmaceutical industries. In this review, we have discussed polymorphism which causes significant changes in materials properties in different fields of solid-state science, such as electrical, magnetic, SHG, thermal expansion, mechanical, luminescence, color, and pharmaceutical. Therefore, this review will interest researchers from supramolecular chemistry, materials science as well as medicinal chemistry.

Therapeutic Potential and Pharmaceutical Development of a Multitargeted Flavonoid Phloretin

Phloretin is a flavonoid of the dihydrogen chalcone class, present abundantly in apples and strawberries. The beneficial effects of phloretin are mainly associated with its potent antioxidant properties. Phloretin modulates several signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms to exhibit therapeutic benefits against various diseases including cancers, diabetes, liver injury, kidney injury, encephalomyelitis, ulcerative colitis, asthma, arthritis, and cognitive impairment. It ameliorates the complications associated with diabetes such as cardiomyopathy, hypertension, depression, memory impairment, delayed wound healing, and peripheral neuropathy. It is effective against various microbial infections including Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Considering the therapeutic benefits, it generated interest for the pharmaceutical development. However, poor oral bioavailability is the major drawback. Therefore, efforts have been undertaken to enhance its bioavailability by modifying physicochemical properties and molecular structure, and developing nanoformulations. In the present review, we discussed the pharmacological actions, underlying mechanisms and molecular targets of phloretin. Moreover, the review provides insights into physicochemical and pharmacokinetic characteristics, and approaches to promote the pharmaceutical development of phloretin for its therapeutic applications in the future. Although convincing experimental data are reported, human studies are not available. In order to ascertain its safety, further preclinical studies are needed to encourage its pharmaceutical and clinical development.

Solid-state stability of Z′ < 1 and Z′ = 2 polymorphs of N,N,N′,N′-tetrabenzylethylenediamine: a combined experimental and theoretical study

The reported polymorphism in a highly flexible ligand gives a structure that is considered as a “crystal on the way” belonging to a metastable phase.