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Abstract
Amorphous forms of poorly soluble drugs are more frequently being incorporated into solid dispersions for administration and extensive research has led to a reasonable understanding of how these dispersions, although still kinetically unstable, improve stability relative to the pure amorphous form. There remains however a paucity of literature describing the effects on such solid dispersions of subsequent processing into solid dosage forms such as tablets. This paper addresses this area by looking at the effects of the addition of common excipients and different manufacturing routes on the stability of a spray-dried dispersion (SDD) of the cannabinoid CB-1 antagonist, ibipinabant. A marked difference in physical stability of tablets was seen with the different fillers with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) giving the best stability profile. It was found that minimising the number of compression steps led to improved formulation stability with a direct compression process giving the best results. Increased levels of crystallinity were seen in coated tablets most likely due to the exposure of the amorphous matrix to moisture and heat during the coating process. DSIMS analysis of the SDD particles indicated increased levels of polymer on the surface.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Sandra Costall, Terry McMahon, Sarah Brown and Vivienne Gray for the manufacture, compression and dissolution testing of amorphous tablet formulations, and to Dr Jean-Claude Canry from CERAM for carrying out DSIMS analysis of the SDD.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.