The present data suggest that the sustained increase of glyceraldehyde-derived AGE could at least in part contribute to the pathogenesis of NASH. The serum glyceraldehyde-derived AGE level may be a useful biomarker for discriminating NASH from simple steatosis.

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Recent active research and new regulatory guidance on pharmaceutical cocrystals have increased the rate of their development as promising approaches to improve handling, storage stability, and bioavailability of poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). However, their complex structure and the limited amount of available information related to their performance may require development strategies that differ from those of single-component crystals to ensure their clinical safety and efficacy. This article highlights current methods of characterizing pharmaceutical cocrystals and approaches to controlling their quality. Different cocrystal regulatory approaches between regions are also discussed. The physical characterization of cocrystals should include elucidating the structure of their objective crystal form as well as their possible variations (e.g., polymorphs, hydrates). Some solids may also contain crystals of individual components. Multiple processes to prepare pharmaceutical cocrystals (e.g., crystallization from solutions, grinding) vary in their applicable ingredients, scalability, and characteristics of resulting solids. The choice of the manufacturing method affects the quality control of particular cocrystals and their formulations. In vitro evaluation of the properties that govern clinical performance is attracting increasing attention in the development of pharmaceutical cocrystals. Understanding and mitigating possible factors perturbing the dissolution and/ or dissolved states, including solution-mediated phase transformation (SMPT) and precipitation from supersaturated solutions, are important to ensure the bioavailability of orally administrated lower-solubility APIs. The effect of polymer excipients on the performance of APIs emphasizes the relevance of formulation design for appropriate use.

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Crystallization is one of the most useful processes for the separation and purification of crystalline compounds. In crystallization processes, real-time monitoring is essential to obtain constant quality of crystalline compounds. This paper is the first to report in situ monitoring of crystalline transformations of active pharmaceutical ingredients by probe-type low-frequency Raman spectroscopy. In this study, carbamazepine was used as a model active pharmaceutical ingredient. We attempted to monitor the crystalline transformation of carbamazepine during heat treatment and the addition of solvent in a one-pot reaction. When carbamazepine form III was heated to 170 °C, the indicative spectrum of carbamazepine form I appeared over time. Subsequent addition of ethanol with heat treatment caused the carbamazepine form I spectrum to disappear. After cooling to room temperature, the spectrum of carbamazepine form III reappeared. To optimize the solvent ratio, we monitored carbamazepine form III as it dispersed into a mixture of ethanol/water with different compositions (75/ 25, 62.5/37.5, 50/50, 37.5/62.5, and 25/75 (v/v)). The spectra of carbamazepine dihydrate were observed in all solvent compositions. When the mixture of ethanol/water was 62.5/37.5 (v/v), the conversion time to carbamazepine dihydrate was fastest. Therefore, probe-type lowfrequency Raman spectroscopy can be used for the in situ monitoring of crystalline transformation and may become a useful process analytical technology technique.