Detecting Crystallinity in Amorphous Solid Dispersions Using Dissolution Testing: Considerations on Properties of Drug Substance, Drug Product, and Selection of Dissolution Media

Patient in-use, room temperature and accelerated conditions stability evaluation of FDA approved clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate products

The objective of the study was to evaluate patient in-use, room temperature, and accelerated conditions stability of FDA-approved products of clopidogrel hydrogen sulfate (CHS). Four products (A, B, C and D) were stored at 25 °C/60% RH (room temperature), 30 °C/75% RH (patient in-use) and 40 °C/75% RH (accelerated) stability conditions for 12 weeks. The products were characterized for physicochemical properties such as hardness, disintegration, assay, impurities, dissolution, Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR), near-infrared (NIR), hyperspectral imaging, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Absorption spectroscopic and diffractometry data indicated polymorphic forms present in the products were not identical. Products A and D contained form Ⅱ, while Products B and C contained form Ⅰ of the drug. No form Ⅰ to form Ⅱ and vice-versa transformation was observed in products after exposure to stability conditions. However, an increase in crystallinity was observed with storage conditions especially at 40 °C/75% RH. Impurity C and dissolution met pharmacopeial specifications. Dissolved drug varied from 95.2 to 97.1% in 30 min and impurity C content was 0.04-0.57%. After storage at various conditions, impurity C content increased insignificantly, still met pharmacopeial specification. However, Products stored at 30 °C/75% RH (patient in-use) and 40 °C/75% RH failed to meet dissolution specification of 85% in 30 min due to an increase in crystallinity. In conclusion, FDA approved products of CHS contained different polymorphic forms, and crystallinity may increase on exposure to patient in-use condition which may impact clinical outcomes.

Vehicle effect on in-vitro and in-vivo performance of spray-dried dispersions

In early drug development, amorphous spray-dried dispersions (SDDs) applied to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds are typically administered to preclinical species via oral gavage in the form of suspensions. The liquid formulations are usually prepared on the same day of dosing to minimize the exposure of the amorphous material to the aqueous vehicle, thereby reducing the risk of crystallization. Dose-ability (e.g. syringe-ability) of the suspensions is also a critical factor for the administration, particularly when high doses, thus concentrations, are required for toxicology studies. As a result, it is standard practice during early formulation screening to assess the stability and the maximum feasible concentration of SDDs in various vehicles. In this study, we evaluated the impact of different vehicles on the performance of a model SDD in-vitro and in-vivo settings, to mitigate the risks associated with its administration in liquid form. A poorly water-soluble compound (GEN-A) was selected to screen various SDDs and generate the SDD model at 30 % drug load with HPMCAS-MF polymer carrier. The SDD was suspended in selected aqueous vehicles after a careful vehicle components screening, that included suspending agents (HPC-SL), solubilizers (PEG400, Propylene glycol), surfactants (Vitamin E TPGS, SLS, Tween 80, Poloxamer 188), and complexing agents (HP-β-CD, SBE-β-CD). The suspensions were characterized for stability, dose-ability and dissolution in biorelevant media, prior administration in pre-clinical species. The SDD dissolution profile revealed that the drug's supersaturation level was positively impacted by the presence of a surfactant (SLS) and a complexing agent (SBE-β-CD) with respect to a suspending agents (HPC-SL) in the vehicle. Similarly, the pharmacokinetics profiles of the drug following the administration of the SDD in a vehicle with a complexing agent (SBE-β-CD) achieved greater exposure compare to the SDD in a vehicle with a suspending agent (HPC-SL). These findings confirm a synergistic effect between the SDD and the vehicles, suggesting that this combination could be leveraged to maximize the advantages of the amorphous approach.

Mechanistic Insights into Amorphous Solid Dispersions: Bridging Theory and Practice in Drug Delivery

Improving the bioavailability  of poorly water-soluble drugs presents a significant challenge in pharmaceutical development. Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) have garnered substantial attention for their capability to augment the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly water-soluble drugs, thereby markedly enhancing their bioavailability. ASDs, characterized by a metastable equilibrium where the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is molecularly dispersed, offer enhanced absorption compared to crystalline forms. This review explores recent research advancements in ASD, emphasizing dissolution mechanisms, phase separation phenomena, and the importance of drug loading and congruency limits on ASD performance. Principal occurrences such as liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and supersaturation are discussed, highlighting their impact on drug solubility, absorption and subsequent bioavailability. Additionally, it addresses the role of polymers in controlling supersaturation, stabilizing drug-rich nanodroplets, and inhibiting recrystallization. Recent advancements and emerging technologies offer new avenues for ASD characterization and production and demonstrate the potential of ASDs to enhance bioavailability and reduce variability, making possible for more effective and patient-friendly pharmaceutical formulations. Future research directions are proposed, focusing on advanced computational models for predicting ASD stability, use of novel polymeric carriers, and methods for successful preparations.

Comparative study of synthesis methods and pH-dependent adsorption of methylene blue dye on UiO-66 and NH2-UiO-66

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly promising adsorbents with notable properties such as elevated adsorption capacities and versatile surface design capabilities. This study introduces two distinct synthesis methods, one lasting 1 h and the other 24 h, for UiO-66 and NH2-UiO-66. While both methods yield structures with comparable crystallinity and morphology, the adsorption performance of the cationic methylene blue dye varies at different pH levels. Despite the 24 h synthesis time being optimal for maximum adsorption in both MOFs, the relative difference in NH2-UiO-66 adsorption percentage at different times suggests reduced dependency on synthesis time for this property. Notably, NH2-UiO-66 exhibits consistent and effective performance across three pH levels, warranting further investigation into its adsorption kinetics and isotherm. The achievement of high adsorption efficiency coupled with a significantly reduced synthesis time underscores the importance of developing simplified synthetic methods, essential for enhancing the practical applicability of MOFs in diverse applications.

Drug Dissolution in Oral Drug Absorption: Workshop Report

The in-person workshop "Drug Dissolution in Oral Drug Absorption" was held on May 23-24, 2023, in Baltimore, MD, USA. The workshop was organized into lectures and breakout sessions. Three common topics that were re-visited by various lecturers were amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), dissolution/permeation interplay, and in vitro methods to predict in vivo biopharmaceutics performance and risk. Topics that repeatedly surfaced across breakout sessions were the following: (1) meaning and assessment of "dissolved drug," particularly of poorly water soluble drug in colloidal environments (e.g., fed conditions, ASDs); (2) potential limitations of a test that employs sink conditions for a poorly water soluble drug; (3) non-compendial methods (e.g., two-stage or multi-stage method, dissolution/permeation methods); (4) non-compendial conditions (e.g., apex vessels, non-sink conditions); and (5) potential benefit of having both a quality control method for batch release and a biopredictive/biorelevant method for biowaiver or bridging scenarios. An identified obstacle to non-compendial methods is the uncertainty of global regulatory acceptance of such methods.

Crystallinity: A Complex Critical Quality Attribute of Amorphous Solid Dispersions

Does the performance of an amorphous solid dispersion rely on having 100% amorphous content? What specifications are appropriate for crystalline content within an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) drug product? In this Perspective, the origin and significance of crystallinity within amorphous solid dispersions will be considered. Crystallinity can be found within an ASD from one of two pathways: (1) incomplete amorphization, or (2) crystal creation (nucleation and crystal growth). While nucleation and crystal growth is the more commonly considered pathway, where crystals originate as a physical stability failure upon accelerated or prolonged storage, manufacturing-based origins of crystallinity are possible as well. Detecting trace levels of crystallinity is a significant analytical challenge, and orthogonal methods should be employed to develop a holistic assessment of sample properties. Probing the impact of crystallinity on release performance which may translate to meaningful clinical significance is inherently challenging, requiring optimization of dissolution test variables to address the complexity of ASD formulations, in terms of drug physicochemical properties (e.g., crystallization tendency), level of crystallinity, crystal reference material selection, and formulation characteristics. The complexity of risk presented by crystallinity to product performance will be illuminated through several case studies, highlighting that a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be used to set specification limits, as the risk of crystallinity can vary widely based on a multitude of factors. Risk assessment considerations surrounding drug physicochemical properties, formulation fundamentals, physical stability, dissolution, and crystal micromeritic properties will be discussed.

Impact of Crystal Nuclei on Dissolution of Amorphous Drugs

Amorphous drugs are used to improve bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Crystallization must be managed to take full advantage of this formulation strategy. Crystallization of amorphous drugs proceeds in a sequence of crystal nucleation and growth, with different kinetics. At low temperatures, crystal nucleation is fast, but crystal growth is slow. Therefore, amorphous drugs may generate dense but nanoscale crystal nuclei. Such tiny nuclei cannot be detected using routine powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and polarized light microscopy (PLM). However, they may negate the dissolution advantage of amorphous drugs. In this work, for the first time, the impact of crystal nuclei on dissolution of amorphous drugs was studied by monitoring the real-time dissolution from amorphous drug films, with and without crystal nuclei, and the evolving crystallinity in the films. Three model drugs (ritonavir/RTV, posaconazole/POS, and nifedipine/NIF) were chosen to represent different crystallization tendencies in the supercooled liquid state, namely, slow-nucleation-and-slow-growth (SN-SG), fast-nucleation-and-slow-growth (FN-SG), and fast-nucleation-and-fast-growth (FN-FG), respectively. We find that although the amorphous films containing nuclei do not show obvious differences from the nuclei-free films under PLM and PXRD before dissolution, they have inferior dissolution performance relative to the nuclei-free amorphous films. For SN-SG drug RTV, crystal nuclei have negligible impact on the crystallization of amorphous films, dissolution rate, and supersaturation achieved. However, they cause earlier de-supersaturation by inducing crystallization in solution as heterogeneous seeds. For FN-SG drug POS and FN-FG drug NIF, crystal nuclei accelerate crystallization in the amorphous films leading to lower supersaturation achieved with POS, and elimination of any supersaturation with NIF. Dissolution profiles of amorphous films can be further analyzed using a derivative function of the apparent dissolution rate, which yields amorphous solubility, initial intrinsic dissolution rate, and onset of crystallization in the amorphous films. This study highlights that although crystal nuclei are undetectable with routine analytical methods, they can significantly negate, or even eliminate, the dissolution advantage of amorphous drugs. Hence, understanding crystal nucleation process and developing approaches to prevent it are necessary to fully realize the benefits of amorphous solids.