Agglomeration of Ibuprofen with talc by novel crystallo-co-agglomeration technique

Surface Modifiers on Composite Particles for Direct Compaction

Direct compaction (DC) is considered to be the most effective method of tablet production. However, only a small number of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can be successfully manufactured into tablets using DC since most APIs lack adequate functional properties to meet DC requirements. The use of suitable modifiers and appropriate co-processing technologies can provide a promising approach for the preparation of composite particles with high functional properties. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview and classification of different modifiers and their multiple combinations that may improve API tableting properties or prepare composite excipients with appropriate co-processed technology, as well as discuss the corresponding modification mechanism. Moreover, it provides solutions for selecting appropriate modifiers and co-processing technologies to prepare composite particles with improved properties.

Co-processing of small molecule excipients with polymers to improve functionality

INTRODUCTION

Polymers have various applications such as binder, film coating agent, stabilizer, drug release modification, and as primary packaging materials. Recently, they have been explored in co-processing technique to improve the functionality of small molecule excipients (SMEs). Co-processing is a concept wherein two or more excipients interact at sub-particle level to provide synergy in functionality and minimize drawbacks of individual excipients.

AREA COVERED

The present review highlights the application of co-processing to improve the functionality of SMEs using polymers; physicochemical and mechanical properties of polymers for co-processing; advantages of co-processed excipients for different applications; functionality enhancement of co-processed excipients; novel concepts/methods for co-processing; mechanistic insights on co-processing and commercial products available in the market.

EXPERT OPINION

Most of the SMEs do not possess optimal multifunctional properties like flow, compressibility, compactibility, and disintegration ability, required to compensate for poorly compactable drugs. Some of these drawbacks can be overcome by co-processing of SMEs with polymers. For example, co-processing of a brittle SME and plastic material (polymer) can provide a synergistic effect and result in the generation of single entity multi-functional excipient. Besides, novel co-processed excipients generated using combinations of SMEs and polymers can also generate intellectual property rights.

Crystallo-co-spray drying as a new approach to manufacturing of drug/excipient agglomerates: Impact of processing on the properties of paracetamol and lactose mixtures

The novel process of crystallo-co-spray drying of paracetamol and α-lactose monohydrate was investigated by varying the spray dryer inlet temperature and inlet feed solvent composition. A crystalline agglomerate was obtained with no change to the physical structure of either component throughout both investigations and with possible interactions between the hydroxyl groups of the α-lactose monohydrate and the amide and hydroxyl groups of the paracetamol detected. The percentage soluble fraction of the components in the inlet feed had the largest influence on the morphology of the final dried agglomerate. Low excipient soluble fraction resulted in an increase in paracetamol surface coating and high excipient soluble fraction produced agglomerates of highly mixed components. The use of crystallo-co-spray drying can serve as a method of producing an agglomerated blend of crystalline co-spray dried components leading to possible opportunities for process intensification with the reduction of process steps such as blending, agglomeration, drying and milling into one single stage.

Evaluation of the effect of some additives on the efficiency of binder liquid in wet agglomeration of crystals

OBJECTIVE

Wet agglomeration is a process wherein dispersed particles are held together in an aggregated form by the presence of a small quantity of solvent which acts as binder liquid. In this work, the efficiency of binder liquid was tested in the presence of various additives.

METHODS

Solid state of carbamazepine (CBZ) agglomerates was characterized by DSC and FT-IR. The obtained agglomerates were also investigated in terms of yield, size distribution, friability, and drug release.

RESULTS

CBZ agglomerates formed only in the presence of talc, span, and croscarmellose sodium (CCS), whereas ethyl cellulose and eudragit RS100 failed to make CBZ agglomerates. The presence of talc decreased the agglomerate size and produced CBZ agglomerates with a poor strength. However, span and CCS led to larger agglomerates with superior strength. In contrast to CCS samples, span and talc altered the dissolution rate of CBZ. FT-IR results showed that there is an interaction between CCS and drug.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that care must be taken when additives are used to manufacture agglomerates as the type of additives even in low concentrations can have a big impact on the efficiency of the binder liquid in forming agglomerates thereby affecting the quality of agglomerates.

Interference of 1:1 and 2:1 layered phyllosilicates as excipients with ranitidine

As natural ingredients and excipients, kaolinite and talc were frequently studied for their interactions with drugs in pharmaceutical formulations. In this study, the uptake of ranitidine (RT) on these two minerals was studied under different physic-chemical conditions and the mechanism of RT uptake on these two minerals contrasted. Although the thermodynamic and kinetic RT uptake on these two minerals was similar and the RT uptake on both minerals were limited to the external surfaces only, drastic difference in RT uptake was found under different equilibrium solution pH and ionic strength conditions. As cation exchange process was strongly affected by solution pH and ionic strength, the RT uptake on kaolinite was dominated by cation exchange and electrostatic interactions, while the RT uptake on talc was more controlled by inter- and intra- molecular hydrogen bonding interactions. For kaolinite, the limiting factor for RT uptake was the specific surface area due to monolayer RT adsorption. In contract, multilayer RT uptake was found on talc surfaces. No matter which mechanism dominated RT uptake on these minerals, the interaction should not be neglected in pharmaceutical formulations should these minerals be used as additives and/or excipients.

Influence of excipients and processing conditions on the development of agglomerates of racecadotril by crystallo-co-agglomeration

Purpose:

The purpose of the present investigation was to improve the flow and mechanical properties of racecadotril by a crystallo-co-agglomeration (CCA) technique. Direct tableting is a requirement of pharmaceutical industries. Poor mechanical properties of crystalline drug particles require wet granulation which is uneconomical, laborious, and tedious.

Materials and Methods:

The objective of this work was to study the influence of various polymers/excipients and processing conditions on the formation of directly compressible agglomerates of the water-insoluble drug, racecadotril, an antidiarrheal agent. The agglomerates of racecadotril were prepared using dichloromethane (DCM)–water as the crystallization system. DCM acted as a good solvent for racecadotril as well as a bridging liquid for the agglomeration of the crystallized drug and water as the nonsolvent. The prepared agglomerates were tested for micromeritic and mechanical properties.

Results:

The process yielded ~90 to 96% wt/ wt spherical agglomerates containing racecadotril with the diameter between 299 and 521 μ. A higher rotational speed of crystallization system reduces the size of the agglomerates and disturbs the sphericity. Spherical agglomerates were generated with a uniform dispersion of the crystallized drug. CCA showed excellent flowability and crushing strength.

Conclusion:

Excipients and processing conditions can play a key role in preparing spherical agglomerates of racecadotril by CCA, an excellent alternative to the wet granulation process to prepare intermediates for direct compression.

Co-precipitation with PVP and Agar to Improve Physicomechanical Properties of Ibuprofen

Objective(s) : Ibuprofen is a problematic drug in tableting due to its viscoelastic properties. Additionally its high cohesivity results in low flowability. In this study, co-precipitation of ibuprofen with varying concentration of agar and PVP to optimize properties of Ibuprofen was carried out.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Co-precipitates of ibuprofen- PVP or agar were prepared by solvent evaporation technique under vacuum condition. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X -ray diffraction of powder (XRDP) and FT-IR spectroscopy were used to investigate the solid state characteristics of the co-precipitates. The dissolution behavior, flowability, particle size and compaction properties of various batches were also studied.

RESULTS

Co-precipitation of drug with agar led to a change in habit from needle to plate shape crystals, while drug -PVP co-precipitates had agglomerated structure and consisted of numerous crystals which had been aggregated together. The co-precipitates showed improved flow properties compared with ibuprofen alone. Precipitation of ibuprofen with these additives led to modification in the dissolution of the drug. Agar in 1% w/w improved slightly the dissolution rate of drug while PVP had a negative impact and led to reduction in the dissolution rate of drug to less than that of pure drug. The all obtained co-precipitates exhibited significantly improved tableting behavior compared with drug crystals alone. This may be due to this fact that, the polymer covering the drug particles increases and changes the nature of the surface area available for interparticulate bonds between particles. DSC, XRDP and FT-IR experiments showed that drug particles, in co-precipitates samples, did not undergo polymorphic modifications.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the influence of polymeric additives on crystallization process leading to modified performance.

Co-precipitation with PVP and Agar to Improve Physicomechanical Properties of Ibuprofen

Objective(s) : Ibuprofen is a problematic drug in tableting due to its viscoelastic properties. Additionally its high cohesivity results in low flowability. In this study, co-precipitation of ibuprofen with varying concentration of agar and PVP to optimize properties of Ibuprofen was carried out.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Co-precipitates of ibuprofen- PVP or agar were prepared by solvent evaporation technique under vacuum condition. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X -ray diffraction of powder (XRDP) and FT-IR spectroscopy were used to investigate the solid state characteristics of the co-precipitates. The dissolution behavior, flowability, particle size and compaction properties of various batches were also studied.

RESULTS

Co-precipitation of drug with agar led to a change in habit from needle to plate shape crystals, while drug -PVP co-precipitates had agglomerated structure and consisted of numerous crystals which had been aggregated together. The co-precipitates showed improved flow properties compared with ibuprofen alone. Precipitation of ibuprofen with these additives led to modification in the dissolution of the drug. Agar in 1% w/w improved slightly the dissolution rate of drug while PVP had a negative impact and led to reduction in the dissolution rate of drug to less than that of pure drug. The all obtained co-precipitates exhibited significantly improved tableting behavior compared with drug crystals alone. This may be due to this fact that, the polymer covering the drug particles increases and changes the nature of the surface area available for interparticulate bonds between particles. DSC, XRDP and FT-IR experiments showed that drug particles, in co-precipitates samples, did not undergo polymorphic modifications.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the influence of polymeric additives on crystallization process leading to modified performance.

Spherical crystallization of drugs

Spherical crystallization of drugs is the process of obtaining larger particles by agglomeration during crystallization. The most common techniques used to obtain such particles are spherical agglomeration and quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion. Ammonia diffusion systems and crystallo-co-agglomeration are extensions of these techniques. By controlling process parameters during crystallization, such as temperature, stirring rate, type and amount of solvents, or excipient selection, it is possible to control the formation of agglomerates and obtain spherical particles of the desired size, porosity, or hardness. Researchers have reported that the particles produced have improved micromeritic, physical, and mechanical properties, which make them suitable for direct compression. In some cases, when additional excipients are incorporated during spherical crystallization, biopharmaceutical parameters including the bioavailability of drugs can also be tailored.

Effect of drug content and agglomerate size on tabletability and drug release characteristics of bromhexine hydrochloridetalc agglomerates prepared by crystallo-co-agglomeration

The objective of the investigation was to study the effect of bromhexine hydrochloride (BXH) content and agglomerate size on mechanical, compressional and drug release properties of agglomerates prepared by crystallo-co-agglomeration (CCA). Studies on optimized batches of agglomerates (BXT1 and BXT2) prepared by CCA have showed adequate sphericity and strength required for efficient tabletting. Trend of strength reduction with a decrease in the size of agglomerates was noted for both batches, irrespective of drug loading. However, an increase in mean yield pressure (14.189 to 19.481) with an increase in size was observed for BXT2 having BXH-talc (1:15.7). Surprisingly, improvement in tensile strength was demonstrated by compacts prepared from BXT2, due to high BXH load, whereas BXT1, having a low amount of BXH (BXH-talc, 1:24), showed low tensile strength. Consequently, increased tensile strength was reflected in extended drug release from BXT2 compacts (Higuchi model, R(2) = 0.9506 to 0.9981). Thus, it can be concluded that interparticulate bridges formed by BXH and agglomerate size affect their mechanical, compressional and drug release properties.