Exploration of Fulvic Acid as a Co-Former in Crystal Engineering

The aim of the project was to investigate Peat-derived Fulvic acid for its propensity to form co-crystals with quercetin and curcumin and characterize it by using different analytical techniques. The formation of co-crystals generally enhances water solubility and the overall bioavailability of mole...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kattamanchi Gnananath, Kolli Prabhanjan Kumar, Yejella Rajendra Prasad, Kalakonda Sri Nataraj, Mohamad Taleuzzaman, Mohammad Javed Ansari, Mohd. Aamir Mirza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Separations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/9/5/126
Description
Summary:The aim of the project was to investigate Peat-derived Fulvic acid for its propensity to form co-crystals with quercetin and curcumin and characterize it by using different analytical techniques. The formation of co-crystals generally enhances water solubility and the overall bioavailability of molecules. Co-crystals were synthesized using a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio of fulvic acid with quercetin and curcumin, respectively, using solvent crystallization techniques taking tetrahydrofuran and water in a 1:1 <i>v</i>/<i>v</i> ratio. The co-crystals were characterized by spectroscopic methods, FTIR and Differential scanning calorimetry. Further confirmation was made by morphological studies using SEM. A structural analysis was also carried out, using <sup>13</sup>C solid-state NMR analysis. The studies confirmed the formation of semi crystalline forms. Furthermore, the saturation solubility displayed the enhancement in solubility of up to 10, 5-folds for Quercetin and Curcumin, respectively. The in vitro dissolution results showed that T50% was achieved within 30 min for both the drugs. The literature supports that the nutraceutical co-crystals offer advantages, particularly in the improvement of biopharmaceutical properties and addressing the challenges of the lab and manufacturing scale process. Both the semi crystalline powders exhibited enhanced solubility and a better dissolution profile.
ISSN:2297-8739