Dataset Information

COSMOPharm: Drug-Polymer Compatibility of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions from COSMO-SAC.

ABSTRACT: The quantum mechanics-aided COSMO-SAC activity coefficient model is applied and systematically examined for predicting the thermodynamic compatibility of drugs and polymers. The drug-polymer compatibility is a key aspect in the rational selection of optimal polymeric carriers for pharmaceutical amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) that enhance drug bioavailability. The drug-polymer compatibility is evaluated in terms of both solubility and miscibility, calculated using standard thermodynamic equilibrium relations based on the activity coefficients predicted by COSMO-SAC. As inherent to COSMO-SAC, our approach relies only on quantum-mechanically derived σ-profiles of the considered molecular species and involves no parameter fitting to experimental data. All σ-profiles used were determined in this work, with those of the polymers being derived from their shorter oligomers by replicating the properties of their central monomer unit(s). Quantitatively, COSMO-SAC achieved an overall average absolute deviation of 13% in weight fraction drug solubility predictions compared to experimental data. Qualitatively, COSMO-SAC correctly categorized different polymer types in terms of their compatibility with drugs and provided meaningful estimations of the amorphous-amorphous phase separation. Furthermore, we analyzed the sensitivity of the COSMO-SAC results for ASD to different model configurations and σ-profiles of polymers. In general, while the free volume and dispersion terms exerted a limited effect on predictions, the structures of oligomers used to produce σ-profiles of polymers appeared to be more important, especially in the case of strongly interacting polymers. Explanations for these observations are provided. COSMO-SAC proved to be an efficient method for compatibility prediction and polymer screening in ASD, particularly in terms of its performance-cost ratio, as it relies only on first-principles calculations for the considered molecular species. The open-source nature of both COSMO-SAC and the Python-based tool COSMOPharm, developed in this work for predicting the API-polymer thermodynamic compatibility, invites interested readers to explore and utilize this method for further research or assistance in the design of pharmaceutical formulations.

SUBMITTER: Antolovic I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11372840 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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COSMOPharm: Drug-Polymer Compatibility of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions from COSMO-SAC.

Antolović Ivan I Vrabec Jadran J Klajmon Martin M

Molecular pharmaceutics 20240730 9

The quantum mechanics-aided COSMO-SAC activity coefficient model is applied and systematically examined for predicting the thermodynamic compatibility of drugs and polymers. The drug-polymer compatibility is a key aspect in the rational selection of optimal polymeric carriers for pharmaceutical amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) that enhance drug bioavailability. The drug-polymer compatibility is evaluated in terms of both solubility and miscibility, calculated using standard thermodynamic equili ...[more]

PMID: 39078049

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Project description:Amorphous solid dispersions of pharmaceuticals often show improved solubility over crystalline forms. However, the crystallization of amorphous solid dispersions during storage, or from elevated supersaturation once dissolved, compromise the solubility advantage of delivery in the amorphous phase. To combat this phenomenon, polymer additives are often included in solid dispersions to inhibit crystallization; however, the optimal properties for polymer to stabilize against crystallization are not fully understood, and furthermore, it is not known how inhibition of precipitation from solution is related to the propensity of a polymer to inhibit crystallization from the amorphous phase. Here, polymers of varied hydrophobicity are employed as crystallization inhibitors in supersaturated solutions and amorphous solid dispersions of the BCS Class II pharmaceutical ethenzamide to investigate the chemical features of polymer that lead to long-term stability for a hydrophobic pharmaceutical. A postpolymerization functionalization strategy was employed to alter the hydrophobicity of poly( N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide) without changing physical properties such as number-average chain length. It was found that supersaturation maintenance for ethenzamide is improved by increasing the hydrophobicity of dissolved polymer in aqueous solution. Furthermore, amorphous solid dispersions of ethenzamide containing a more hydrophobic polymer showed superior stability compared to those containing a less hydrophobic polymer. This trend of increasing polymer hydrophobicity leading to improved amorphous stability is interpreted by parsing the effects of water absorption in amorphous solid dispersions using intermolecular interaction strengths derived from global structural analysis. By comparing the structure-function relationships, which dictate stability in solution and amorphous solid dispersions, the effect of hydrophobicity can be broadly understood for the design of polymers to impart stability throughout the application of amorphous solid dispersions.

Project description:The maximum achievable concentration of a drug in solution is dictated by the chemical potential of the solid form. Because an amorphous solid has a higher chemical potential than the corresponding crystal form, in the absence of phase transformations, a higher transient solubility is expected. However, the chemical potential of an amorphous drug can be reduced by mixing with another component. Therefore, upon mixing with a polymer to form an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD), the maximum solution concentration achieved can be potentially altered, in particular if the polymer is poorly soluble in the dissolution medium. Such changes in the chemical potential of the drug may be a critical factor in determining the maximum achievable solution concentration, and could alter the crystallization driving force of the drug. Therefore, the aim of this study was to gain insights into the impact of poorly soluble polymers on the "amorphous solubility" of drugs formulated as amorphous solid dispersions. Lopinavir was selected as a model drug with a low crystallization tendency, enabling determination of the amorphous solubility as a function of ASD composition. Model polymers included cellulose acetate (CA), CA phthalate (CAP), ethylcellulose (EC), Eudragit® RL PO (EUD), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), HPMC acetate succinate (HPMCAS), and HPMC phthalate (HPMCP). The "amorphous solubility" of the drug alone was determined and then the changes in maximum achievable concentration were measured as a function of drug loading. Drug-polymer interactions were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and moisture sorption analysis. The results showed that the maximum achievable concentration ("amorphous solubility") of lopinavir varied with the extent of drug-polymer interactions, as well as the drug weight fraction in the ASD. This information is of great value when evaluating the maximum achievable concentration of amorphous systems formulated with pH responsive polymers, and should contribute to a broader understanding of drug phase behavior in the context of ASDs.

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Dataset Information

COSMOPharm: Drug-Polymer Compatibility of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions from COSMO-SAC.

Publications

COSMOPharm: Drug-Polymer Compatibility of Pharmaceutical Amorphous Solid Dispersions from COSMO-SAC.

Similar Datasets

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