Petra A. Priemel

Refining stability and dissolution rate of amorphous drug formulations

Introduction: Poor aqueous solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is one of the main challenges in the development of new small molecular drugs. Additionally, the proportion of poorly soluble drugs among new chemical entities is increasing. The transfer of a crystalline drug to its amorphous counterpart is often seen as a potential solution to increase the solubility. However, amorphous systems are physically unstable. Therefore, pharmaceutical formulations scientists need to find ways to stabilise amorphous forms. Areas covered: The use of polymer-based solid dispersions is the most established technique for the stabilisation of amorphous forms, and this review will initially focus on new developments in this field. Additionally, newly discovered formulation approaches will be investigated, including approaches based on the physical restriction of crystallisation and crystal growth and on the interaction of APIs with small molecular compounds rather than polymers. Finally, in situ formation of an amorphous form might be an option to avoid storage problems altogether. Expert opinion: The diversity of poorly soluble APIs formulated in an amorphous drug delivery system will require different approaches for their stabilisation. Thus, increased focus on emerging techniques can be expected and a rational approach to decide the correct formulation is needed.

Amorphous drugs and dosage forms

The transformation to an amorphous form is one of the most promising approaches to address the low solubility of drug compounds, the latter being an increasing challenge in the development of new drug candidates. However, amorphous forms are high energy solids and tend to recrystallize. New formulation principles are needed to ensure the stability of amorphous drug forms. The formation of solid dispersions is still the most investigated approach, but additional approaches are desirable to overcome the shortcomings of solid dispersions. Spatial separation by either coating or the use of micro-containers has shown potential to prevent or delay recrystallization. Another recent approach is the formation of co-amorphous mixtures between either two drugs or one drug and one low molecular weight excipient. Molecular interactions between the two molecules provide an energy barrier that has to be overcome before single molecules are available for the formation of crystal nuclei, thus stabilizing the amorphous form.

In situ amorphisation of indomethacin with Eudragit® E during dissolution.

In this study, the possibility of utilising in situ crystalline-to-amorphous transformation for the delivery of poorly water soluble drugs was investigated. Compacts of physical mixtures of γ-indomethacin (IMC) and Eudragit® E in 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 (w/w) ratios were subjected to dissolution testing at pH 6.8 at which IMC but not the polymer is soluble. Compacts changed their colour from white to yellow indicating amorphisation of IMC. X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD) confirmed the amorphisation and only one glass transition temperature was observed (58.1 °C, 54.4 °C, and 50.1 °C for the 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 (w/w) drug-to-polymer ratios, respectively). Furthermore, principal component analysis of infrared spectra resulted in clustering of in situ transformed samples together with quench cooled glass solutions for each respective ratio. Subsequent dissolution testing of in situ transformed samples at pH 4.1, at which the polymer is soluble but not IMC, led to a higher dissolution rate than for quench cooled glass solution at 3:1 and 1:1 ratios, but not for the 1:3 ratio. This study showed that crystalline drug can be transformed into amorphous material in situ in the presence of a polymer, leading to the possibility of administering drugs in the amorphous state without physical instability problems during storage.

Inhibition of surface crystallisation of amorphous indomethacin particles in physical drug-polymer mixtures.

Surface coverage may affect the crystallisation behaviour of amorphous materials. This study investigates crystallisation inhibition in powder mixtures of amorphous drug and pharmaceutical excipients. Pure amorphous indomethacin (IMC) powder and physical mixtures thereof with Eudragit(®) E or Soluplus(®) in 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 (w/w) ratios were stored at 30 °C and 23 or 42% RH. Samples were analysed during storage by X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). IMC Eudragit(®) mixtures showed higher physical stability than pure IMC whereas IMC Soluplus(®) mixtures did not. Water uptake was higher for mixtures containing Soluplus(®) than for amorphous IMC or IMC Eudragit(®) mixtures. However, the Tg of amorphous IMC was unaffected by the presence (and nature) of polymer. SEM revealed that Eudragit(®) particles aggregated on the surface of IMC particles, whereas Soluplus(®) particles did not. The drug particles developed multiple crystallites at their surface with subsequent crystal growth. The intimate contact between the surface agglomerated Eudragit(®) particles and drug is believed to inhibit crystallisation through reduced IMC surface molecular mobility. Polymer particles may also mechanically hinder crystal growth outwards from the surface. This work highlights the importance of microparticulate surface coverage of amorphous drug particles on their stability.

The impact of surface- and nano-crystallisation on the detected amorphous content and the dissolution behaviour of amorphous indomethacin.

The crystallinity and physical stability of amorphous drugs has previously been studied using different analytical techniques. However, the effect of the measurement method on observed crystallinity and its importance for critical quality attributes, such as dissolution, has not yet been widely investigated. The aim of this study was to (i) qualitatively analyse and understand the recrystallisation behaviour of amorphous indomethacin during storage, (ii) quantify the amorphous content during storage with complementary analytical techniques and (iii) investigate the relationship between observed recrystallisation behaviour and dissolution behaviour. Quench cooled indomethacin was stored and the samples were visualised by scanning electron microscopy to gain spatially resolved information about the recrystallisation behaviour. Crystallisation was quantified by Fourier transform attenuated total reflectance infrared (FT-ATR-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction. These techniques resulted in different observed recrystallisation profiles. The physicochemical phenomena detected and sampling geometry for each technique together with the sample recrystallising from the surface and appearance of nano-crystals were used to explain the differences. The dissolution behaviour at the observed recrystallisation endpoints for the different analytical techniques revealed that FT-ATR-IR spectroscopy predicted the changes in dissolution behaviour due to crystallisation best.

Unintended and in situ amorphisation of pharmaceuticals

Amorphisation of poorly water-soluble drugs is one approach that can be applied to improve their solubility and thus their bioavailability. Amorphisation is a process that usually requires deliberate external energy input. However, amorphisation can happen both unintentionally, as in process-induced amorphisation during manufacturing, or in situ during dissolution, vaporisation, or lipolysis. The systems in which unintended and in situ amorphisation has been observed normally contain a drug and a carrier. Common carriers include polymers and mesoporous silica particles. However, the precise mechanisms by which in situ amorphisation occurs are often not fully understood. In situ amorphisation can be exploited and performed before administration of the drug or possibly even within the gastrointestinal tract, as can be inferred from in situ amorphisation observed during in vitro lipolysis. The use of in situ amorphisation can thus confer the advantages of the amorphous form, such as higher apparent solubility and faster dissolution rate, without the disadvantage of its physical instability.

Theoretical Considerations in Developing Amorphous Solid Dispersions

Before pursuing the laborious route of amorphous solid dispersion formulation and development, which is the topic of many of the subsequent chapters in this book, the formulation scientist would benefit from a priori knowledge whether the amorphous route is a viable one for a given drug and how much solubility improvement, and hence increase in bioavailability, can be expected, and what forms of solid dispersion have been developed in the past. In this chapter, we therefore initially define the various forms of solid dispersions, and then go on to discuss properties of pure drugs with respect to their glass-forming ability and glass stability. In the main parts of this chapter, we review theoretical approaches to determine amorphous drug polymer miscibility and crystalline drug polymer solubility, as a prerequisite to develop amorphous solid dispersions (glass solutions).

Determination of methylphenidate in Calliphorid larvae by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry--forensic entomotoxicology using an in vivo rat brain model.

The aim of this study was to examine the potential forensic utilisation of blowfly larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae) as an alternative toxicological specimen for the detection of the psychotropic model drug methylphenidate (MPH). MPH was extracted from biological matrices (rat brain, serum and Calliphorid larvae) by liquid-liquid extraction with recovery of >80%, and quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The LC-MS/MS assay was validated for entomotoxicological use and initially applied to male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=6) that were dosed with MPH (20mg/kg) ante-mortem. MPH could be detected in Calliphorid larvae (n=15) reared on the rat brains at 3.2±1.6 ng/g. Secondly, MPH-spiked porcine brain tissue (450 mg/kg) was used to investigate drug concentration in larvae over a period of 72 h. After larvae had feed for 60 h, MPH was detected at 19.8±1.4 μg/g in the feeding larvae and at 3.5±0.1 μg/g in the MPH-spiked porcine brain tissue. It could be advantageous to use Calliphorid larvae as an alternative toxicological specimen to detect alkaline labile drugs, such as MPH.

Amorphous is not always better—A dissolution study on solid state forms of carbamazepine

Poor aqueous solubility is a major concern for many new drugs. One possibility to overcome this issue is to formulate the drug as a high energy form, i.e. a metastable polymorph, an amorphous neat drug or a glass solution with polymers. In this study the dissolution properties of different solid state forms of carbamazepine, crystalline or amorphous drug, with or without either polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and glass solutions of the drug with both polymers (2:1, 4:1 and 10:1 (w/w) drug-to-polymer ratio) were tested with respect to their dissolution behaviour in a biorelevant gastric medium (for 30min) and subsequently in intestinal conditions (for 2h). Carbamazepine form III in the absence of polymer dissolved to a drug concentration of 540μg/ml, but the concentration decreased after around 70min due to precipitation of the dihydrate form, and reached 436μg/ml after 2.5h dissolution testing. The presence of PVP led to a similar dissolution profile with a slightly earlier onset of decrease in drug concentration, while in the presence of HPMC no decline in dissolved drug concentration was observed. Surprisingly, amorphous carbamazepine did not result in any supersaturation and the drug concentration was lower than that measured for crystalline carbamazepine. The addition of polymers further decreased the concentration of dissolved drug (290-310μg/ml, depending on polymer type and concentration). Amorphous drug converted quickly into the dihydrate form and thus no supersaturation was achieved. Glass solutions of carbamazepine with PVP reached drug concentrations between 348 and 408μg/ml after 2.5h, i.e. lower than for the crystalline drug, whilst glass solutions with HPMC reached concentrations similar to the crystalline drug.

Supersaturating drug delivery systems: The potential of co-amorphous drug formulations

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) are probably the most common and important supersaturating drug delivery systems for the formulation of poorly water-soluble compounds. These delivery systems are able to achieve and maintain a sustained drug supersaturation which enables improvement of the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs by increasing the driving force for drug absorption. However, ASDs often require a high weight percentage of carrier (usually a hydrophilic polymer) to ensure molecular mixing of the drug in the carrier and stabilization of the supersaturated state, often leading to high dosage volumes and thereby challenges in the formulation of the final dosage form. As a response to the shortcomings of the ASDs, the so-called co-amorphous formulations, which are amorphous combinations of two or more low molecular weight components, have emerged as an alternative formulation strategy for poorly-soluble drugs. While the current research on co-amorphous formulations is focused on preparation and characterization of these systems, more detailed research on their supersaturation and precipitation behavior and the effect of co-formers on nucleation and crystal growth inhibition is needed. The current status of this research is reviewed in this paper. Furthermore, the potential of novel preparation methods for co-amorphous systems with respect to the current preparation methods are discussed.