It is estimated that 90% of new chemical entities in development pipelines exhibit poor aqueous solubility. For compounds not limited by biological membrane permeability, this poor aqueous solubility is the limiting factor in bioavailability. Therefore, the formulation of such drugs has primarily been centered on improving dissolution properties. Traditional approaches for overcoming poor aqueous solubility include salt formation of the active ingredient, complexation, the use of surface active agents, formulation into oil based systems, particle size reduction, or a combination of these methods. More recently amorphous solid dispersions have been explored. Currently, the drug loading within solid dispersions is limited resulting in large quantities of the formulation being required for a therapeutically relevant dose. In the frame of the work herein, Thin Film Freezing was utilized to generate high drug loaded amorphous solid dispersions of the poorly water soluble drug phenytoin utilizing a hydrophilic polymer or an amphiphilic graft copolymer for system stabilization. Additionally a new solvent removal technique, atmospheric freeze drying, was investigated for removal of the solvents used during Thin Film Freezing. The Thin Film Freezing materials were subsequently incorporated into a polymeric carrier for solid dispersion formulation by a novel fusion production technique termed Kinetisol® dispersing. Studies of the solid dispersions produced by Thin Film Freezing revealed an amorphous system had been obtained for both stabilizing polymers. The formulation containing a hydrophilic carrier was capable of achieving supersaturation. Conversely, the amphiphilic graft copolymer demonstrated a phenytoin-polymer interaction resulting in poor dissolution. Atmospheric freeze drying of the Thin Film Freezing product demonstrated that the alternative drying technique generated powders with significantly improved handling properties as a result of reduced electrostatic interactions due to the increased pore size, reduced surface area, larger particle size, and higher, though acceptable, residual solvent levels. The use of Thin Film Freezing powders during Kinetisol Dispersing resulted in a single phase amorphous system while solid dispersions produced from physical mixtures of bulk materials were amorphous two-phase systems. This indicates that the use of amorphous drug compositions during solid dispersion production may increase drug loading in the final system while remaining single phase in nature. / text

Many pharmaceutical compounds being developed in recent years are poorly soluble in water. This has led to insufficient oral bioavailability of many compounds in vitro. The amorphous formulation is one of the promising techniques to increase the oral bioavailability of these poorly water-soluble compounds. However, an amorphous drug substance is inherently unstable because it is a high energy form. In order to increase the physical stability, the amorphous drug is often formulated with a suitable polymer to form an amorphous solid dispersion. Previous research has suggested that the formation of an intimately mixed drug-polymer mixture contributes to the stabilization of the amorphous drug compound. The goal of this research is to better understand the role of miscibility, molecular interactions and mobility on the physical stability of amorphous solid dispersions. Methods were developed to detect different degrees of miscibility on nanometer scale and to quantify the extent of hydrogen-bonding interactions between the drug and the polymer. Miscibility, hydrogen-bonding interactions and molecular mobility were correlated with physical stability during a six-month period using three model systems. Overall, this research provides molecular-level insights into many factors that govern the physical stability of amorphous solid dispersions which can lead to a more effective design of stable amorphous formulations.

No Brasil a esquistossomose é causada pela espécie Schistosoma mansoni e leva principalmente à formação de granulomas e fibroses, hipertensão portal e hepatoesplenomegalia. O praziquantel (PZQ) é o fármaco de primeira escolha para o tratamento e possui baixa solubilidade aquosa, sendo necessárias altas doses para ação terapêutica. A taxa de dissolução do PZQ é fator limitante para a sua biodisponibilidade, portanto, melhorar sua solubilidade é fundamental. O objetivo deste trabalho foi aumentar a solubilidade do PZQ pela obtenção de grânulos contendo dispersões sólidas deste fármaco pelo processo hot melt em leito fluidizado. Além disto, buscou-se estudar a fluidodinâmica e as variáveis do processo de granulação. Inicialmente, dispersões sólidas foram preparadas por simples fusão em polietilenoglicol (PEG) 4000 e PEG 6000 nas proporções 2:1; 1:1; 1:2; 1:5 e 1:10 e estas foram caracterizadas por teste de solubilidade, difração de raios-X, espectroscopia em infravermelho e análises térmicas (DSC e TG). Foram obtidas dispersões sólidas com uma solubilidade duas vezes maior do PZQ, uma menor cristalinidade, uma possível interação fármaco-carreador e sem degradação ou alteração nos principais grupos funcionais. Com estes resultados, a dispersão sólida 1:10 PZQ:PEG 6000 foi escolhida para a etapa da granulação. Os granulados foram obtidos utilizando o planejamento fatorial Box Behnken com as seguintes variáveis: % de dispersão sólida, proporção PZQ:PEG das dispersões e carga de lactose spray-dried (SD) (g). A caracterização dos grânulos foi realizada pelos testes: granulometria, densidade aparente, densidade compactada, fator de Hausner, índice de Carr, ângulo de repouso e doseamento do fármaco, sendo todas estas propriedades avaliadas pela técnica de superfície de resposta (ANOVA). A análise estatística demonstrou que as características dos granulados são, na maioria dos casos, dependentes da % de dispersão sólida e da proporção de PZQ:PEG, sendo satisfatórios e toleráveis os resultados do fluxo dos granulados. Os três melhores granulados foram escolhidos para as análises de microscopia eletrônica de varredura, espectroscopia em infravermelho, difração de raios-X, análise térmica e perfil de dissolução. Estas análises mostraram que nos grânulos houve diminuição da cristalinidade, possíveis interações entre PZQ, PEG e lactose, além do grande aumento no perfil de dissolução. Com estes resultados, confirmam-se as vantagens da granulação por hot melt em leito fluidizado e a importância do estudo de suas variáveis. / In Brazil, schistossomiasis is mainly attributed to the species Schistosoma mansoni, which causes granulomas and fibrosis, portal hypertension and hepatosplenomegaly. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the first choice in the treatment; however, it has low water solubility, thus requiring high doses for a proper therapeutical result. The PZQ dissolution rate is the limiting factor for its bioavailability; therefore, it is fundamental to improve of this drug solubility. The objective of this work was to increase the PZQ solubility with the production of granules containing its solid dispersions, prepared by hot melt process in fluidized bed. Moreover, the fluid dynamic and several variables of the process were studied. First, solid dispersions were prepared by mixing with melted polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 and PEG 6000 at the ratios of 2:1; 1:1; 1:2; 1:5 and 1:10. These were characterized by solubility test, x-ray powder diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal analyses (DSC and TG). Solid dispersions were obtained with PZQ solubility two times higher than the pure drug, lower crystallinity and without degradation or alteration in the main functional groups. With these results, the solid dispersion 1:10 PZQ:PEG 6000 was chosen for the studies of granulation. The granulates were obtained using the Box Behnken factorial design with the following independent variables: % of solid dispersion, ratio PZQ:PEG in the dispersions and amount of spray-dried lactose (g). The granules characterization was made by the tests of granulometry, bulk density, tapped density, Hausner ratio, Carr index, angle of repose and PZQ assay. In addition, all these properties were evaluated by response surface technique (ANOVA). The statistical analysis, in most cases, showed that the granules characteristics depend significantly on the % of solid dispersion and on the ratio PZQ:PEG. The results on the granules flow properties are satisfactory and acceptable for tableting. The three granulates with best properties were submitted to scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, thermal analysis and dissolution test. These analyses showed that there were, in the granules, decrease of crystallinity, possible interaction among PZQ, PEG and lactose, and also, greater increase in the dissolution test. The advantages of fluid bed hot melt granulation and the importance of studying the process variables are confirmed by the results in this work.

The unique symmetry requirements of second harmonic generation (SHG) provide exquisite selectivity to chiral crystals, enabling independent quantitative modeling of the nucleation and crystal growth of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) within amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) during accelerated in situ stability testing, and in vitro dissolution testing. ASDs, in which an API is maintained in an amorphous state within a polymer matrix, are finding increasing use to address solubility limitations of small-molecule APIs. SHG microscopy yielded limits of detection for ritonavir crystals as low as 10 ppm, which is about two orders of magnitude lower than other methods currently available for crystallinity detection in ASDs. The quantitative capabilities of SHG analysis were substantially improved further while simultaneously dramatically reducing the total sample volume and storage burden through in situ analysis. Single particle tracking of crystal growth performed in situ enabled substantial improvements in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for recovered crystal nucleation and growth rates by nonlinear optical microscopy. Upon dissolution, the presence of solubilizing additives in biorelevant media greatly affected the generation and stabilization of supersaturated solutions. SHG microscopy was found to enable the detection of crystals even in the highly turbid Ensure Plus® system. Analysis of the SHG micrographs clearly indicated that differences in the nucleation kinetics rather than growth rates dominated the overall trends in crystallinity. For weakly basic drugs, the fate of dissolution in fasted-state simulated intestinal fluid (FaSSIF, pH 6.5) varied with the ASDs drug loading, and was highly affected by the pre-exposure to the fasted-state simulated gastric fluid (FaSSGF, pH 1.6) medium, versus the dissolution in FaSSIF medium alone. The presence of crystals during the first stage of posaconazole ASDs dissolution in FaSSGF acted as nuclei for further crystallization in the later dissolution stage in FaSSIF. The results provide insights of better formulation prediction of poorly soluble drugs, as well as understanding origins of intraluminal absorption variability for such systems

L’amélioration de la solubilité des principes actifs peu solubles est devenue l’un des principaux challenges de l’industrie pharmaceutique. Bien que présentant une structure chimique potentiellement idéale pour interagir avec la cible, elles échouent dans l’efficacité in vivo : après administration, elles ne peuvent se dissoudre dans les milieux aqueux biologiques et par conséquent ne peuvent être transportées sur leur site d’action pour atteindre la concentration efficace, amenant à un échec thérapeutique. De nombreuses stratégies très intéressantes ont été proposées pour surmonter ce sérieux obstacle. Les dispersions solides sont étudiées depuis plus de 40 ans et ont conduit à de très nombreuses publications mais jusqu’à aujourd’hui peu de produits ont été commercialisés principalement pour des raisons de stabilité physico-chimique. Celles-ci ont pour but de présenter le principe actif sous sa forme amorphe car cette forme solide présente un état d’énergie plus élevé et par conséquent une solubilisation facilitée. Par ailleurs, le système doit rester stable durant le stockage, ainsi la recristallisation ou tout autre changement entraînant une modification du profil de libération doivent être évités. Différentes techniques de production peuvent être utilisées pour préparer les dispersions solides comme l’extrusion à chaud ou l’atomisation-séchage. Le principal objectif de ce travail a été d’améliorer la solubilité de l’Efavirenz (EFV), un principe actif peu soluble dans l’eau, par sa dispersion dans une matrice polymère en utilisant la technique d’atomisation-séchage. Différents polymères ont été utilisés : Soluplus®, PVPVA64 et HPMCAS. Des mélanges binaires EFV-polymère (Soluplus®, PVPVA64 et HPMCAS) ont été générées et caractérisées. Les techniques de caractérisation utilisées ont été la calorimétrique différentielle modulée, la diffraction des rayons X, l’analyse Raman et la spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier et l’analyse de sorption de vapeur pour la caractérisation physicochimique de l’état solide des mélanges binaires. L’étude de caractérisation a été complétée par une étude de solubilité et de dissolution dans différents milieux aqueux ainsi que de stabilité dans différentes conditions de stress de température et humidité relative. Les résultats ont mis en évidence la formation de dispersions solides amorphes avec les trois polymères utilisés. Les différents profils de libération obtenus à partir des mélanges binaires générés dans ce travail montrent l’influence du type de polymère, de la concentration du principe actif dans les dispersions solides et de la composition du milieu de dissolution sur la fonctionnalité des produits (solubilité, dissolution). / Poor aqueous solubility has become a property of numerous new drug candidates causing major concern. Despite a potentially ideal chemical structure allowing for interaction with the target, these substances fail to be effective in vivo: upon administration, they cannot dissolve sufficiently in the aqueous fluids of the body and, thus, cannot be transported to their site of action to reach therapeutically effective concentrations. Various interesting strategies have been proposed to overcome this crucial hurdle. Solid dispersions have been studied for more than 40 years and lead to numerous interesting research articles. However, today, only a few products have reached the market principally due to problems with the physico-chemical stability. The idea is to transform the crystalline raw material into a physical state having a greater energy in order to increase the driving force for drug dissolution. At the same time, the system should be stable during long term storage, thus, re-crystallization or other system changes, resulting in altered drug release rates, must be avoided. Different manufacturing techniques can be used to prepare such polymeric systems, including hot-melt extrusion and spray-drying. The main objective of this work has been to improve Efavirenz (EFV) solubility by forming solid dispersions using the spray-drying technique. In this study EFV has been incorporated into hydrophilic polymeric matrices Soluplus®, PVPVA64 and HPMCAS to increase its aqueous solubility. Binary mixtures EFV-Soluplus®, EFV-PVPVA64 and EFV-HPMCAS) were produced and characterized using SEM, X-ray diffraction, DSC, RAMAN, Infrared spectroscopy and water vapor sorption. This physicochemical characterization was completed by solubility and in vitro dissolution studies at different stress conditions (temperature, RH). The results obtained confirmed the formation of amorphous solid dispersions for all studied drug-polymer combinations. The different kinetic profiles obtained from the various solid dispersions generated in this work showed the influence of the type and polymer and drug-polymer binary mixture composition and in vitro dissolution medium on the functionality of spray-dried solid dispersions produced in this work (solubility and dissolution kinetics).

Hot-melt extruded solid dispersion technique is increasingly employed to improve the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs. The technique relies on the enhanced solubility of the amorphous form of the drug compared to its crystalline counterpart. These systems however are thermodynamically unstable. This means that the drug crystallises with time. Therefore, efforts to measure the stability of these systems over the life span of the product are crucial. This study focused on investigating the use of Hansen Solubility Parameters to quantify polymer-drug interaction and to predict the stability of solid dispersions. This was achieved through a systematic review of hot-melt extruded solid dispersion literature. The study also investigated the use of a combined mechanical and rheological model to characterise the physicochemical and release behaviour of three solid dispersion immediately after preparation and after storage for one month at 40oC or three months at room temperature. Results revealed that the total solubility parameter |ΔбT| was able to predict the stability of the systems for more than 4 months using a cut-off point of 3 MPa-1 with a negative predictive value of 0.9. This was followed by ΔбD with a cut-off point of 1.5 MPa- 1. Moreover, Dynamic Mechanical Analyser and shear rheometry data were shown to be more sensitive than Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Powder X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared in detecting crystallisation and the interaction between the drug and the polymer. The Dynamic Mechanical Analyser data were consistent with the dissolution behaviour of the samples when comparing the freshly prepared samples with those after storage. The results highlight the need for a unified characterisation approach and the necessity of verifying the homogeneity of mixing during the extrusion process.

A preparação de partículas pela técnica de granulação por solidificação de material fundido em leito fluidizado tem se destacado no âmbito da indústria farmacêutica. As vantagens do uso deste método têm atraído muitos pesquisadores para aprimorar e colocar em prática tal técnica de preparo. A principal vantagem deste processo é dispensar o uso de solventes e diminuir o tempo de preparo dos granulados para compressão. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi o desenvolvimento e estudo desta técnica de granulação, usando a lactose tipo spray-dried como substrato e como agente aglutinante uma dispersão do polímero polietilenoglicol 4000 contendo indometacina como fármaco modelo. Outra motivação para este trabalho foi realizar a caracterização físico-química dos granulados obtidos e avaliar um possível aumento da solubilidade deste fármaco de classe II. Resultados obtidos durante estudos preliminares mostram que a solubilidade da indometacina foi consideravelmente aumentada com o uso do PEG e análises físico-química indicaram que não há interação entre a indometacina e o PEG. O método utilizado na granulação consistiu na atomização da dispersão liquefeita de PEG 4000 contendo 25% de indometacina sobre o substrato a fim de obter grânulos contendo estes três componentes. Um estudo prévio da fluidodinâmica da lactose provou ser predominante o regime de leito fluidizado. Para viabilizar a obtenção destas dispersões sólidas, foram estudadas as variáveis do processo como vazão da dispersão carreador/fármaco, vazão do ar de atomização e quantidade total de dispersão adicionada, aplicando para tal um planejamento fatorial tipo Box-Behnken. O leito fluidizado se mostrou eficiente para a granulação e os granulados obtidos foram considerados de boa qualidade baseando-se na sua caracterização por densidades aparente e compactada, fluidez, distribuição granulométrica, doseamento do fármaco e perfil de dissolução in-vitro. Granulados de dois tamanhos médios diferentes e com ótima fluidez foram escolhidos para as análises seguintes. A integridade e ausência de interação do fármaco com os demais componentes destes granulados foram comprovadas por calorimetria exploratória diferencial, difração de raios-X, infravermelho, microscopia de plataforma quente e microscopia de varredura eletrônica. As micrografias mostraram visivelmente que as formas dos cristais de indometacina presentes no granulado apresentaram as características da forma y (II), que é a mesma da indometacina padrão. A dissolução de cápsulas gelatinosas duras contendo os lotes de grânulos escolhidos mostraram que no meio tampão fosfato (pH 7,2) foi liberado até 99% da indometacina. Porém, em meio HCl 0,1N; obteve-se liberação de até 28% da indometacina, o que corresponde a um aumento de 14,5 vezes a liberação obtida com a indometacina padrão. / Recently, there is a renewed interest in the fluidized bed hot melt granulation for the preparation of solid dosage forms in the pharmaceutical industry and academy. The several advantages of this technique have attracted may researchers, but the main advantage are undoubtedly the solvent free operation and the short processing times. The aim of this work was to develop and study this granulation technique using spray-dried lactose as substrate and a dispersion of indomethacin in hot melted polyethylene glycol 4000 and as the binder. Another goal in this work was to characterize the granules obtained and to evaluate any increase in indomethacin solubility in the solid dispersions. The results of preliminary evaluation of indomethacin/polyethylene glycol physical mixtures and solid dispersions showed a considerable increase in the drug solubility, while no chemical or physical interaction with the carrier could be observed. Before the granulation experiments the fluid dynamic behavior of the lactose was characterized as fluidization regime. The method of granulation consisted in the atomization of hot melted polyethylene glycol containing 25% of indomethacin onto the fluidized bed of lactose. In order to study the granulation process, a Box-Behnken design was applied to verify the effects of spray air flow rate, drug/carrier feed rate and total amount of drug/carrier added to granules. The fluidized bed showed to be an effective method for hot melt granulation and the granules quality can be considered adequate, based on their characteristics of apparent and compacted densities, flowability, particle size distribution, indomethacin content and in-vitro dissolution profile. From the whole set of experiments, two granule batches were chosen based on their mean particle sizes and excellent flow indexes, to verify any drug/PEG/lactose interaction during the granulation process. The non existence of interaction was proved by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform Infra-red, hot stage microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The scanning electron microscopy showed that indomethacin crystals with the characteristic shape of the form y (II) could be observed in the granules, indicating that its crystalline form did not change during processing. The dissolution profiles of indomethacin from hard gelatin capsules containing the granules showed the release of 99% of the drug in phosphate buffer media (pH 7.2). However, in acidic media (HCl 0,1N) 28% of the total indomethacin was released, which corresponded to a 14.5 fold increase when compared to the pure indomethacin release under the same conditions.

No revestimento por solidificação de material fundido o agente de revestimento é aplicado em seu estado liquefeito e se solidifica na superfície do substrato, formando a cobertura desejada, eliminando o uso de solventes. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar dois tipos de processo: revestimento de partículas grandes em leito de jorro e revestimento de partículas finas em leito fluidizado, e avaliar a influência de parâmetros do processo sobre propriedades físicas e farmacotécnicas das partículas revestidas, assim como usá-las no preparo de comprimidos. As partículas grandes foram revestidas com PEG 4000, sendo o estudo do processo feito através de um planejamento fatorial completo 23 com triplicatas no ponto central. As variáveis estudadas foram pressão do ar de atomização, vazão de atomização e altura do bico de atomização. Para as partículas revestidas foram determinados a distribuição granulométrica, o fator de Hausner e o índice de Carr. Os comprimidos destas partículas foram submetidos a ensaios de dissolução in vitro, para avaliação dos perfis de liberação de paracetamol. As partículas finas foram revestidas com uma dispersão sólida de PEG 4000 e curcumina, sendo o estudo do processo feito através de um planejamento fatorial completo 23, seguido de um planejamento Box-Behnken. As variáveis estudadas foram pressão do ar de atomização, vazão de atomização e quantidade de dispersão sólida. Para as partículas revestidas foram determinados a distribuição granulométrica, densidades aparente e compactada, fator de Hausner, capacidade de compactação, porosidade total, além de serem submetidas a microscopia eletrônica de varredura e a análise por DSC. A dispersão sólida também foi caracterizada através de análise por DSC, espectroscopia no infravermelho, difração de raios X, sendo também feita a determinação da solubilidade da curcumina em água. Os comprimidos destas partículas foram caracterizados através da obtenção do diagrama de Heckel, curvas de dureza em função da pressão de compressão aplicada e ensaio de dissolução in vitro. Para as partículas grandes, o estudo do processo sugeriu que a vazão de atomização foi o fator de maior influência sobre o tamanho das partículas, influenciando o grau de aglomeração durante o processo. Uma menor vazão de atomização resultou em um menor grau de aglomeração das partículas. A caracterização da dispersão sólida mostrou que houve um aumento da solubilidade da curcumina e que ela interage com PEG 4000. Para as partículas finas, o estudo do processo sugeriu que a pressão do ar de atomização foi fator de maior influência sobre o tamanho das partículas, sendo o seu revestimento favorecido quando se operou com o altos valores de pressão. Ambos os tipos de partículas revestidas resultaram em comprimidos com características adequadas. / The hot-melting coating is a solvent-free technique used to coat pharmaceutical solid dosage forms. The coating agent is applied in its melted state, and after its solidification, the coating is formed. The objective of this present work was to study two types of processes: coarse particle coating in spouted bed and fine particle coating in fluidized bed, evaluate the influence of process parameters on particle size and flow properties, as well as their tableting. Coarse particles were coated with PEG 4000, and the process study followed a full factorial design 23 with triplicates in the central point. The factors studied were atomization air pressure, atomization rate, and vertical position of the spray nozzle. Particle size distribution, Hausner factor and Carr index were determined for coated particles. Tablets of these particles were submitted to dissolution tests to obtain their release profile of paracetamol. Fine particles were coated with a solid dispersion of PEG 4000 and curcumin, in a study of the process that followed a full factorial design 23, and a Box-Behnken design. The factors studied were air atomization pressure, atomization rate, and the PEG 4000 content. Coated particles were characterized by their bulk and tapped densities, particle size distribution, Hausner factor, ability to settle, total porosity, scanning electron microscopy and DSC analysis. Solid dispersion was also characterized by DSC analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, being also made the determination of the curcumin solubility in water. Heckel´s plot, hardness as function of the applied pressure and in vitro dissolution tests were used to characterize the tablets. The study of the coating process of coarse particles suggested that the atomization rate was the most significant factor, influencing the particle agglomeration degree during the process. The lower the atomization rate, the lower the degree of particles agglomeration. Curcumin in the solid dispersion showed an increase in water solubility and also showed an interaction with PEG 4000 by hydrogen bounding. The study of the fine particles coating process showed that the atomization air pressure was the most significant factor on particle size. All tablets prepared from both types of coated particles showed adequate characteristics.

The majority of water soluble vitamin and organic acid food additives are distributed in their crystalline forms. However, when they are combined with water and other food ingredients and then exposed to a variety of unit operations, there is potential to solidify these initially crystalline ingredients in the amorphous state. Amorphous solids are generally less chemically and physically stable than their crystalline counterparts. To ensure nutrient delivery to the consumer and fulfill labeling laws, deterioration of nutrients due to unintentional amorphization is undesirable. Additionally, the potential for recrystallization of an amorphous ingredient may alter texture and redistribute water. Hence, solid state form is a critical factor dictating the stability of food formulations. Building on earlier work from my M.S. degree that demonstrated thiamine chloride hydrochloride could solidify in the amorphous state in the presence of a variety of polymers (Arioglu-Tuncil et al., 2017), a major goal of this study was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the physical and chemical stability of amorphous forms of two thiamine salts, thiamine chloride hydrochloride (TClHCl) and thiamine mononitrate (TMN), in comparison to their crystalline counterparts and each other. The objectives for this part of the work were to investigate amorphization/recrystallization tendencies of TMN and TClHCl in solid dispersions, as well as chemical stability of thiamine in the solid dispersions to understand the impact of vitamin form, physical state (amorphous vs. crystalline), polymer type and features (Tg, hygroscopicity, and ability for intermolecular interactions), storage conditions, proportion of vitamin to polymer,and pre-lyophilized solution pHs on thiamine degradation and the physical stability of dispersions. Thiamine degraded more when in the amorphous form compared to in the crystalline state. Additionally, polymer type and vitamin proportion influenced thiamine degradation, where thiamine degraded more when it was present in lower concentrations (in dispersions that had higher Tgs), and it was chemically more stable when a polymer with greater intermolecular interactions with the vitamin was used. As storage RH increased, variably hygroscopicities of the polymers resulted in different thiamine degradation rates. The pre-lyophilization pHs of the solutions had a significant impact on thiamine stability in the solid dispersions. Similar to thiamine salts, citric acid is a commonly used food ingredient with a high crystallization tendency. Following similar experimental designs for documenting the recrystallization tendencies of citric acid in amorphous solid dispersions to those used in the thiamine studies, hydrogen bonding and/or ionic interactions between polymer and citric acid were found to be the main stabilizing factor for delaying recrystallization, more than polymer Tg and hygroscopicity. The findings of this dissertation provide a powerful prediction approach to physically and chemically stabilize the small compounds in the complex food matrices for the production of high quality food products and ensuring nutrient delivery to target populations.<br>

<p>Mixing excipients is a common way to produce pharmaceutical materials with suitable properties for drug formulation. An understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in the formation and transformation of the structures of solid state mixtures is crucial if one is to be able to produce materials with the desired properties in a reliable way. </p><p>In the first part of the thesis, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was used to visualise the re-crystallisation of spray-dried amorphous particles comprised of lactose and PVP. The transformation was quantified on a single particle level and analysed with a common kinetic model, the JMAK-equation. The way in which the PVP was incorporated into the particles and the impact this had on their physical stability on exposure to increasing levels of humidity was investigated. The amount and, to a certain extent, the molecular weight of the PVP affected the moisture induced crystallisation of the particles. The inhibition was further discussed in terms of nucleation and growth. </p><p>In the second part of the thesis, the formation of phases in solid dispersions of monoolein (MO) in PEGs was studied by the use of SAXS and DSC. Upon solidification of a melt, the components phase separated, resulting in a PEG-rich phase and an MO phase. MO was intercalated into the amorphous domains of the lamellar structure of PEG. A second MO phase appeared in the mixtures where the average molecular weight of PEG was 1500 and 4000 g/mol. It was hypothesised that this second phase was formed in conjunction with the expulsion of MO as the PEG unfolded. </p><p>This thesis describes the application of two relatively unexplored solid state techniques on two different solid mixtures of pharmaceutical interest and, in so doing, contributes to the knowledge of phase formation and transformations in the solid state.</p>