The physical and chemical characterization of the solid-state properties of drugs and excipients is fundamental for planning new formulations and developing new strategies for the treatment of diseases. Techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy are among the most commonly used techniques for these purposes. Penciclovir and lysine are individually used to treat the herpes virus. As such, the development of a formulation containing both drugs may have therapeutic potential. Solid-state characterization showed that both penciclovir and lysine were crystalline materials with melting points at 278.27 °C and 260.91 °C, respectively. Compatibility studies of penciclovir and lysine indicated a possible interaction between these substances, as evidenced by a single melting point at 253.10 °C. The compatibility of several excipients, including ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, cetostearyl alcohol, sodium lauryl sulphate, di-tert-butyl methyl phenol, liquid petrolatum, methylparaben, nonionic wax, paraffin, propylene glycol, and propylparaben, was evaluated in ternary (penciclovir-lysine-excipient) mixtures (1:1:1, w/w/w) to determine the optimal formulation. The developed formulation was stable under accelerated and ambient conditions, which demonstrated that the interaction between penciclovir and lysine was suitable for the development of a formulation containing both drugs.

Cocrystals have gained attention in the pharmaceutical industry due to their ability to improve solubility, stability, in vitro dissolution rate, and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. Conceptually, cocrystals are multicomponent solids that contain two or more neutral molecules in stoichiometric amounts within the same crystal lattice. There are several techniques for obtaining cocrystals described in the literature; however, the focus of this article is the Reaction Crystallization Method (RCM). This method is based on the generation of a supersaturated solution with respect to the cocrystal, while this same solution is saturated or unsaturated with respect to the components of the cocrystal individually. The advantages of the RCM compared with other cocrystallization techniques include the ability to form cocrystals without crystallization of individual components, applicability to the development of in situ techniques for the screening of high quality cocrystals, possibility of large-scale production, and lower cost in both time and materials. An increasing number of scientific studies have demonstrated the use of RCM to synthesize cocrystals, mainly for drugs belonging to class II of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System. The promising results obtained by RCM have demonstrated the applicability of the method for obtaining pharmaceutical cocrystals that improve the biopharmaceutical characteristics of drugs.

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Background: Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) is a thiazide diuretic which comprises two sulfonamide groups. The literature is not clear regarding the identification of the chromatographic peaks of its two major related substances: chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (DSA). Methods: In the present study, a simple, sensitive, and selective HPLC method was developed and validated for the assay of HCTZ, Chlorothiazide and DSA. The method was carried out on a C18 column, maintained at 40ºC. The mobile phase was composed of monobasic potassium phosphate buffer 0.02M pH 3.0/acetonitrile/methanol (82:9:9, v/v/v), run at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, and UV detection at 270 nm. Results: All related compounds including processing impurities and degradants from stressed samples were well separated from each other. The performance of this method was validated in accordance to the ICH guidelines and included specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision and robustness. Conclusion: Based on the results, the HCTZ degradation pathway was proposed and the validated HPLC method was successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of HCTZ in pharmaceutical formulations, contributing to improve quality control, to assure therapeutic efficacy and to clarify the literature.

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