Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC): A Tool to Study the Thermal Behavior of Lipid Bilayers and Liposomal Stability

Abstract

Thermodynamical techniques are applied for determining the thermal stress of medicinal compounds of the excipients as well as their interactions during the formulation process.

The physicochemical properties and the stability of the medicinal products could be measured as a function of temperature or time using thermal analysis.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a suitable thermal analysis technique for determining the purity, the polymorphic forms and the melting point of a sample in the Pharmaceutical Industry. It is also considered as a tool to study the thermal behavior of lipid bilayers and of lipidic drug delivery systems, like liposomes by measuring thermodynamic parameters (i.e. ΔH and Tm), which affect the stability of the liposomal suspension under given storage conditions.

Keywords:

• Thermal analysis
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
• lipid bilayers
• stability
• liposomes

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank chemist A. Georgopoulos for editing the article and for his valuable comments and discussions.