Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

Amorphous solid dispersions are considered a promising formulation strategy for the oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs. The limiting factor for the applicability of this approach is the physical (in)stability of the amorphous phase in solid samples. Minimizing the risk of reduced shelf life for a...

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Main Authors: Michael Brunsteiner, Johannes Khinast, Amrit Paudel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-07-01
Series:Pharmaceutics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/10/3/101
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author Michael Brunsteiner
Johannes Khinast
Amrit Paudel
author_facet Michael Brunsteiner
Johannes Khinast
Amrit Paudel
author_sort Michael Brunsteiner
collection DOAJ
description Amorphous solid dispersions are considered a promising formulation strategy for the oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs. The limiting factor for the applicability of this approach is the physical (in)stability of the amorphous phase in solid samples. Minimizing the risk of reduced shelf life for a new drug by establishing a suitable excipient/polymer-type from first principles would be desirable to accelerate formulation development. Here, we perform Molecular Dynamics simulations to determine properties of blends of eight different polymer–small molecule drug combinations for which stability data are available from a consistent set of literature data. We calculate thermodynamic factors (mixing energies) as well as mobilities (diffusion rates and roto-vibrational fluctuations). We find that either of the two factors, mobility and energetics, can determine the relative stability of the amorphous form for a given drug. Which factor is rate limiting depends on physico-chemical properties of the drug and the excipients/polymers. The methods outlined here can be readily employed for an in silico pre-screening of different excipients for a given drug to establish a qualitative ranking of the expected relative stabilities, thereby accelerating and streamlining formulation development.
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spelling doaj.art-612f443cc561470b89e008ab4885c5fc2022-12-22T04:28:21ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232018-07-0110310110.3390/pharmaceutics10030101pharmaceutics10030101Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation StudyMichael Brunsteiner0Johannes Khinast1Amrit Paudel2Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering Gmbh, 8010 Graz, AustriaResearch Center Pharmaceutical Engineering Gmbh, 8010 Graz, AustriaResearch Center Pharmaceutical Engineering Gmbh, 8010 Graz, AustriaAmorphous solid dispersions are considered a promising formulation strategy for the oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs. The limiting factor for the applicability of this approach is the physical (in)stability of the amorphous phase in solid samples. Minimizing the risk of reduced shelf life for a new drug by establishing a suitable excipient/polymer-type from first principles would be desirable to accelerate formulation development. Here, we perform Molecular Dynamics simulations to determine properties of blends of eight different polymer–small molecule drug combinations for which stability data are available from a consistent set of literature data. We calculate thermodynamic factors (mixing energies) as well as mobilities (diffusion rates and roto-vibrational fluctuations). We find that either of the two factors, mobility and energetics, can determine the relative stability of the amorphous form for a given drug. Which factor is rate limiting depends on physico-chemical properties of the drug and the excipients/polymers. The methods outlined here can be readily employed for an in silico pre-screening of different excipients for a given drug to establish a qualitative ranking of the expected relative stabilities, thereby accelerating and streamlining formulation development.http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/10/3/101molecular dynamics simulationamorphousphysical stabilityhydrogen-bondmolecular mobilitymixing energymolecular interactions
spellingShingle Michael Brunsteiner
Johannes Khinast
Amrit Paudel
Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
Pharmaceutics
molecular dynamics simulation
amorphous
physical stability
hydrogen-bond
molecular mobility
mixing energy
molecular interactions
title Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
title_full Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
title_fullStr Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
title_full_unstemmed Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
title_short Relative Contributions of Solubility and Mobility to the Stability of Amorphous Solid Dispersions of Poorly Soluble Drugs: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study
title_sort relative contributions of solubility and mobility to the stability of amorphous solid dispersions of poorly soluble drugs a molecular dynamics simulation study
topic molecular dynamics simulation
amorphous
physical stability
hydrogen-bond
molecular mobility
mixing energy
molecular interactions
url http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/10/3/101
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