Ethambutol
(ETB) is a chiral dibasic compound formulated and marketed
as the (S,S)-ethambutol dihydrochloride,
(S,S)-EDH, to treat tuberculosis.
It is administered orally in a solid formulation composed of isoniazid,
rifampicin, and pyrazinamide as a fixed-dose combination tablet. Because
of its high hygroscopicity, (S,S)-EDH is known for catalyzing the degradation of isoniazid by rifampicin
to yield isonicotinyl hydrazone. In order to avoid or even minimize
these mutual drug–drug interactions, in this work we have focused
on the development of less hygroscopic multicomponent solid forms
of ETB. Four salts of this drug, namely, oxalate (ETBOXA), maleate,
terephthalate, and trichloroacetate, were prepared via supramolecular
synthesis by the slow evaporation method and characterized by X-ray
diffraction (single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction),
spectroscopic (Fourier transform-infrared), and thermal (thermogravimetric
analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, hot stage microscopy)
techniques. The hygroscopic nature of these salts, including (S,S)-EDH, were evaluated, and all of them
were found to be hygroscopic, with the exception of ETBOXA.