In an earlier investigation, coamorphous systems of ketoconazole (KTZ) prepared with each oxalic (OXA), tartaric (TAR), citric (CIT), and succinic (SUC) acid, revealed drug-acid ionic or hydrogen bonding interactions in the solid-state (Fung et al, Mol. Pharmaceutics, 2018, 15 (3), 1052-1061). We showed that the drug-acid interactions in KTZ-TAR were the strongest, followed by KTZ-OXA, KTZ-CIT, and KTZ-SUC. In this study, we investigated the crystallization propensity and dissolution behavior of the KTZ-acid coamorphous systems. When in contact with water (either as water vapor or as aqueous phosphate buffer), while KTZ-CIT and KTZ-TAR were physically stable and resisted crystallization, KTZ-SUC and KTZ-OXA crystallized more readily than KTZ alone. The dissolution performances of the coamorphous systems were compared using the area under the curve (AUC) obtained from the concentration-time profiles. KTZ-OXA exhibited the highest AUC, while it was about the same for KTZ-TAR and KTZ-CIT and the lowest for KTZ-SUC. The enhancement in dissolution appeared to become more pronounced as the strength of the acid (OXA > TAR > CIT > SUC) increased. Coamorphization with acid caused at least a two-fold increase in AUC when compared with amorphous KTZ. The decrease in pH of the diffusion layer of the dissolving solid, brought about by the acid, is at least partially responsible for the dissolution enhancement. In addition, the particles of KTZ-OXA, KTZ-TAR, and KTZ-CIT were much smaller than those of KTZ-SUC. The consequent effect on surface area could be another contributing factor to the initial dissolution behavior.

The use of excipients other than polymers for enhancing the physical stability of amorphous active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) has largely been unexplored. We investigated several organic acids (oxalic, tartaric, citric, and succinic acid) for the purpose of stabilizing a weakly basic API, ketoconazole (KTZ), in the amorphous state. Coamorphous systems with each acid, in 1:1 KTZ-acid molar ratio, were prepared by spray drying. The interaction of KTZ with each acid was investigated by FT-IR, solid-state NMR, and quantum chemical calculations. Each acid exhibited ionic and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions with KTZ, and quantum chemical calculations provided a measure of the strength of this interaction. The α-relaxation times, a measure of molecular mobility, were determined by dielectric spectroscopy, and their crystallization propensity by variable temperature X-ray powder diffractometry. Crystallization was observed only in two systems, KTZ-oxalic salt and KTZ-succinic as a cocrystal. An increase in the strength of KTZ-acid interaction translated to a decrease in molecular mobility. When the two systems prepared with structurally similar dicarboxylic acids (succinic and oxalic acid) were compared, the physical stability enhancement of KTZ-oxalic coamorphous system could be attributed to its lower mobility. However, the exceptional stability of KTZ-tartaric and KTZ-citric could not be explained by mobility alone, indicating that structural factors may also contribute to stabilization. The interaction between KTZ and acid may alter the system sufficiently so that the crystallization propensity of the KTZ-acid complex (salt or cocrystal) becomes relevant. We conclude that small molecule excipients have the potential to improve the physical stability of amorphous APIs.

In an earlier investigation, ketoconazole (KTZ)–organic acid coamorphous systems were prepared, wherein, in the solid-state, there was ionic and/or hydrogen bonding interactions between the drug and the acid (FungM.BerziņšK.SuryanarayananR.Mol. Pharmaceutics2018151862–1869). While the coamorphous systems accelerated KTZ dissolution, the organic acids were not effective in maintaining supersaturation, and drug precipitation was observed. Ternary drug-polymer-acid amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) were prepared with KTZ, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and each oxalic (OXA), tartaric (TAR), citric (CIT), or succinic (SUC) acid. When compared with amorphous KTZ, solid dispersions of KTZ–PVP exhibited a moderate reduction in molecular mobility and small improvement in dissolution performance. The incorporation of acid (OXA, TAR, or CIT) in PVP–KTZ solid dispersion led to orders of magnitude increase in α-relaxation times and decrease in the crystallization propensity. These ternary ASDs were stable while crystallization of the cocrystal was observed in the SUC system. Moreover, the addition of acids also dramatically improved the dissolution performance of KTZ, a result attributed to KTZ–acid interactions.

Utilizing glycerol as a plasticizer, an accelerated physical stability testing method of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) was developed. The influence of glycerol concentration on the glass transition temperature and α-relaxation time (a measure of molecular mobility) of amorphous ketoconazole, celecoxib, and the solid dispersions of each prepared with polyvinylpyrrolidone was investigated. By temperature scaling (T g/T), the effects of glycerol concentration and temperature on the relaxation time were simultaneously evaluated. Glycerol, in a concentration dependent manner, accelerated crystallization in all of the systems without affecting the fragility. In celecoxib-PVP ASDs, the drug crystallization was well coupled to molecular mobility and was essentially unaltered at glycerol concentrations up to 2% w/w. The acceleration in crystallization brought about by glycerol expedited the determination of the coupling between molecular mobility and crystallization. As a result, we were able to predict the physical stability of the unplasticized ASD. This approach is especially useful for ASDs with high polymer content where drug crystallization is extremely slow at the relevant storage temperature.