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Solubility and permeability are key parameters for establishing in vitro-in vivo correlation for poorly water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Recent studies demonstrate that not only solubility, but also effective permeability of the API may change due to the addition of solubilizing agents, and there is a certain mathematical relation between these physicochemical parameters. The aim of this study was to show the importance of early screening of solubility and permeability in presence of additives in order to achieve the expected bioavailability of the API. In this work, the effect of surfactants and microenvironmental pH modifiers were in focus, and pimobendan was chosen as model drug.In the case of pH modifiers, the equilibrium solubility of the API increased, while the permeability decreased significantly. No negative effect was observed for two surfactants at low additive levels, but these two additives also exhibited a slightly negative effect on permeability when used at higher concentrations. In the simultaneous dissolution-permeation studies the surfactants-containing formulation was found to have slightly higher flux than the pH-modifier-containing one. It can be due to the phenomenon that the dissolution of the active substance can be enhanced by these surfactants without any significant permeability reducing effect.The results obtained from the present study clearly demonstrate the importance of studying drug-additive interactions in every step of formulation development and based on these, the selection of the appropriate quality and quantity of additives. In addition, the results also underline the significance of performing simultaneous dissolution-permeation studies to predict bioavailability.

The work aimed to develop the Absorption Driven Drug Formulation (ADDF) concept, which is a new approach in formulation development to ensure that the drug product meets the expected absorption rate. The concept is built on the solubility-permeability interplay and the rate of supersaturation as the driving force of absorption. This paper presents the first case study using the ADDF concept where not only dissolution and solubility but also permeation of the drug is considered in every step of the formulation development. For that reason, parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) was used for excipient selection, small volume dissolution-permeation apparatus was used for testing amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), and large volume dissolution-permeation tests were carried out to characterize the final dosage forms. The API-excipient interaction studies on PAMPA indicated differences when different fillers or surfactants were studied. These differences were then confirmed with small volume dissolution-permeation assays where the addition of Tween 80 to the ASDs decreased the flux dramatically. Also, the early indication of sorbitol’s advantage over mannitol by PAMPA has been confirmed in the investigation of the final dosage forms by large-scale dissolution-permeation tests. This difference between the fillers was observed in vivo as well. The presented case study demonstrated that the ADDF concept opens a new perspective in generic formulation development using fast and cost-effective flux-based screening methods in order to meet the bioequivalence criteria.

The work aimed to develop the Absorption Driven Drug Formulation (ADDF) concept, which is a new approach in formulation development to ensure that the drug product meets the expected absorption rate. The concept is built on the solubility-permeability interplay and the rate of supersaturation as the driving force of absorption. This paper presents the first case study using the ADDF concept where not only dissolution and solubility but also permeation of the drug is considered in every step of the formulation development. For that reason, parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) was used for excipient selection, small volume dissolution-permeation apparatus was used for testing amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), and large volume dissolution-permeation tests were carried out to characterize the final dosage forms. The API-excipient interaction studies on PAMPA indicated differences when different fillers or surfactants were studied. These differences were then confirmed with small volume dissolution-permeation assays where the addition of Tween 80 to the ASDs decreased the flux dramatically. Also, the early indication of sorbitol's advantage over mannitol by PAMPA has been confirmed in the investigation of the final dosage forms by large-scale dissolution-permeation tests. This difference between the fillers was observed in vivo as well. The presented case study demonstrated that the ADDF concept opens a new perspective in generic formulation development using fast and cost-effective flux-based screening methods in order to meet the bioequivalence criteria. Graphical Abstract.

In this work, two different approaches have been developed to predict the food effect and the bioequivalence of marketed itraconazole (ITRA) formulations. Kinetic solubility and simultaneous dissolution-permeation tests of three (ITRA) formulations (Sporanox capsules and solution and SUBA-ITRA capsules) were carried out in simulated fasted and fed states. Fraction of dose absorbed ratios estimating food effect and bioequivalence were calculated based on these results and were compared to the in vivo study results published by Medicines Agencies. The comparison demonstrated that kinetic solubility and flux values could be used as input parameters for biopharmaceutics modeling and simulations to estimate food effect and bioequivalence. Both prediction methods were able to determine a slightly negative food effect in the case of the Sporanox solution and also a pronounced positive food effect for the Sporanox capsule. Superior bioavailability was predicted when the Sporanox solution was compared to the Sporanox capsule (in agreement with in vivo data).

Aims: The aqueous solubility of two polymorphic forms of venlafaxine hydrochloride was investigated. Methods: The pH-dependent solubility (SpH) over a wide pH range was measured by saturation shake-flask (SSF) method at 25 °C. The solubility of the free base form was depicted by the intrinsic solubility (So). To identify the solid form present at the solubility equilibrium, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and Raman spectroscopy was carried out. The dissolution was studied using real time concentration monitoring applying fiber optic UV probes. Results: No difference was found in the SpH values of Form I and Form II, in the pH range 7.5-12. Solid phase isolated from pH 10-12 suspensions was identified as free base by XRPD and Raman spectroscopy. Precipitates separated from pH 7-8 samples were also identical product. The transition of polymorphs to the free base was supported by the real time dissolution analysis. Conclusion: In this study we demonstrated a good agreement of equilibrium solubility measured by SSF method and in-situ UV fiber optic method. µDISS ProfilerTM has the advantage to provide much more information about dissolution process; with this approach the dissolution kinetic, the supersaturation and the time needed to reach the equilibrium can be easily monitored.

In the literature the therapeutic nonequivalence of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTCH) capsules and tablets was attributed to the different aqueous solubility of polymorphs without their comprehensive study. Our aim was to reveal the effects of polymorphism on equilibrium solubility, dissolution kinetics and the supersaturation of two OTCH polymorphs (stable Form A and metastable Form B).The equilibrium solubility was measured in biorelevant pH range 4-7.4 by the standardized saturation shake-flask method. We also studied the solubility in SGF at pH 1.2 and the effect of the pH change from 1.2 to 5.0 on solubility. The dissolution was studied using real-time concentration monitoring with an ATR probe attached to a UV spectrophotometer (µDISS Profiler). A wide spectrum of solid phase analysis methods (SEM, IR, XRPD, Raman) was applied for characterization of polymorphs and to identify which form is present at the equilibrium solubility. Identical equilibrium solubility values were obtained at the same pHs in region 4.0-7.4 using the two polymorphs as starting materials. The XRPD analysis of the isolated solid phases proved that both polymorphic forms were converted to dihydrate form. In situ monitoring of the dissolution at pH 5.0 showed immediate dissolution, no difference in supersaturation, and short equilibration time for both forms indicating the immediate conversion. In SGF (pH 1.2) Form B dissolved better than Form A and showed significantly different dissolution kinetic and stability. A long-lasting, false chain-citation stating that Form B dissolves 28x better in water than Form A, was cut by the present study (i) revealing that the cited data was measured in IPA not in water, and (ii) proving that only the intrinsic solubility of OTC dihydrate can be measured in water due to conversion of polymorphs under the experimental conditions of solubility measurement. However this conversion is inhibited below pH 1.5, so the differences in solubility and dissolution kinetic found at pH 1.2 may contribute to the interpretation of the different serum-levels reported at solid formulations.

The aim of this research was to investigate the driving force of membrane transport through size-exclusion membranes and to provide a concentration-based mathematical description of it to evaluate whether it can be an alternative for lipophilic membranes in the formulation development of amorphous solid dispersions. Carvedilol, an antihypertensive drug, was chosen and formulated using solvent-based electrospinning to overcome the poor water solubility of the drug. Vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate copolymer (PVPVA64) and Soluplus were used to create two different amorphous solid dispersions of the API. The load-dependent effect of the additives on dissolution and permeation through regenerated cellulose membrane was observed by a side-by-side diffusion cell, μFLUX. The solubilizing effect of the polymers was studied by carrying out thermodynamic solubility assays. The supersaturation ratio (SSR, defined as the ratio of dissolved amount of the drug to its thermodynamic solubility measured in exactly the same medium) was found to be the driving force of membrane transport in the case of size-exclusion membranes. Although the transport through lipophilic and size-exclusion membranes is mechanistically different, in both cases, the driving force of membrane transport in the presence of polymer additives was found to be the same. This finding may enable the use of size-exclusion membranes as an alternative to lipid membranes in formulation development of amorphous solid dispersions.

Pomalidomide (POM), a potent anticancer thalidomide analogue was characterized in terms of cyclodextrin complexation to improve its aqueous solubility and maintain its anti-angiogenic activity. The most promising cyclodextrin derivatives were selected by phase-solubility studies. From the investigated nine cyclodextrins – differing in cavity size, nature of substituents, degree of substitution and charge – the highest solubility increase was observed with sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD). The inclusion complexation between POM and SBE-β-CD was further characterized with a wide variety of state-of-the-art analytical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy as well as X-ray powder diffraction method (XRD). Job plot titration by NMR and the AL-type phase-solubility diagram indicated 1:1 stoichiometry in a liquid state. Complementary analytical methods were employed for the determination of the stability constant of the complex; the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches are also discussed. Inclusion complex formation was also assessed by molecular modelling study. Solid state complexation in a 1:1 M ratio was carried out by lyophilization and investigated by IR and XRD. The complex exhibited fast-dissolution with immediate release of POM, when compared to the pure drug at acidic and neutral pH. Kinetic analysis of POM release from lyophilized complex shows that Korsmeyer-Peppas and Weibull model described the best the dissolution kinetics. The cytotoxicity of the complex was tested against the LP-1 human myeloma cell line which revealed that supramolecular interactions did not significantly affect the anti-cancer activity of the drug. Overall, our results suggest that the inclusion complexation of POM with SBE-β-CD could be a promising approach for developing more effective POM formulations with increased solubility., Pomalidomide, Cyclodextrin complexation, Inclusion complex, Solubility, Comparative dissolution, Pomalyst®

Incubation time plays a critical role in the accurate measurement of equilibrium solubility of compounds. Substances which dissolve very slowly generally need long incubation times (days or weeks) to reach equilibrium. However, long times may pose several problems, such as decomposition of solute, molding of buffer, and drifting of pH. Higuchi in 1979 proposed the Facilitated Dissolution Method (FDM) to dramatically reduce incubation time. It employs a small volume of water-immiscible organic solvent to partly solubilize the sample and thereby increase the surface area available for dissolution. The method has been used only rarely. In this study we performed a systematic validation of FDM using progesterone as model compound. The reference solubility value, 7.95±0.21μg/mL (p0.05, n=5), was determined in Britton-Robinson buffer solution (pH7.4) at 25.0°C by the standardized protocol of Saturation Shake-Flask (SSF) method. Also, the solubility was measured by the FDM approach under varied experimental conditions (e.g., type and volume of organic solvent, time of agitation, and amount of solid excess), and compared to the reference value. It was demonstrated that the small amount of organic solvent used in the FDM does not impact the measured solubility, compared to the reference value. Additionally, four compounds of low dissolution rate (dexamethasone, digoxin, haloperidol and cosalane) were used to demonstrate that FDM can reduce the long equilibration time to the standardized 24h (6h stirring and 18h sedimentation). The time dependence of solubility equilibrium was measured by SSF, and the results were compared with those obtained by FDM. Our study, based on200 solubility experiments, supports the validity of Higuchi's method. In this study we propose a standardized protocol for the FDM, where 1% v/v of organic solvent is used. Octane (or isooctane) was found to be suitable for highly hydrophobic compounds. Alternatively, octanol or 1,2-dichloroethane can be used for less lipophilic compounds.

The phase separation is a crucial step in equilibrium solubility measurements. In the standardized protocol of saturation shake-flask method, sedimentation is proposed as the safest technique. However filtration is widely used in pharma practice. In this paper the effect of the filtration on the measured equilibrium solubility results is presented. The equilibrium solubility values of four model compounds, namely diclofenac sodium, hydrochlorothiazide, papaverine hydrochloride and progesterone were determined at various pH values using the saturation shake-flask method. Two phase separation techniques (sedimentation and filtration) were applied for the separation of the solid from the saturated solution. Four membrane filters, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyether sulfone (PES), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and nylon, as well as an analytical filter paper were investigated. The results obtained by filtration were compared with those measured by sedimentation and the distortion effect of the filter (DEF) on solubility results was expressed in %. The results showed that the filter material type is able to remarkably influence the results in solubility measurements. In several cases, the significant adsorption to the filter caused high inaccuracy in the measured concentration value, more over in some cases failed to work at all. As a main conclusion of this work, if the step of filtration is inevitable, the adsorption to the filter can be mitigated with the appropriate filter type selection what needs some experiences and knowledge about the acid-base chemistry and polar/apolar nature of the sample.

Lapatinib (LAP), the tyrosine kinase inhibitor drug with moderate bioavailability, was characterized in terms of physicochemical properties: acid-base characteristics, lipophilicity, and solubility. The highly lipophilic nature of the drug and its extremely low water solubility (S0=0.82 nM) limit the development of a parenteral formulation. In order to enhance solubility and bioavailability, inclusion complex formation with cyclodextrins (CDs) is a promising method of choice. Therefore, LAP-CD interactions were also studied by a multianalytical approach. The stability constants of LAP with native cyclodextrins, determined by UV spectroscopy, identified the seven-membered β-CD as the most suitable host. Continuous variation method (Job’s plot) by 1H NMR showed a 1 : 1 stoichiometry for the complexes. The geometry of the complex was elucidated by 2D ROESY NMR measurements and molecular modeling, indicating that the partial molecular encapsulation includes the fluorophenyl ring of LAP. Phase-solubility studies with four CDs, β-CD, (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), randomly methylated-β- (RAMEB-) cyclodextrin, and sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD), show an AL type diagram and highly increased solubility via CD complexation. The results are especially promising with SBE-β-CD, exerting more than 600-fold gain in solubility. The equilibrium and structural information presented herein can offer the molecular basis for an improved drug formulation with enhanced bioavailability.

The complete physico-chemical characterization of the single enantiomer analgesic drug R,R-tapentadol was quantitated in terms of protonation macro- and microconstants and octanol–water partition coefficient using pH-potentiometry, UV-pH and 1H NMR-pH titrations. The protonation macroconstants were found to be log K1 = 10.59 ± 0.01 and log K2 = 9.44 ± 0.01, while the individual basicity of each protonation site was found to be log kO = 9.94 and log kN = 10.48 for the phenolate and tertiary amine functions, respectively. As a consequence, the zwitterionic form of tapentadol predominates in aqueous solutions. The potential optical impurity (S,S-tapentadol) was synthesized for the first time in a seven-step chiral synthetic procedure. The enantiomers of tapentadol were separated by cyclodextrin modified capillary zone electrophoresis. Over 15 cyclodextrins were investigated in terms of apparent complex stability and screened as chiral selectors, and the sulfated alpha-cyclodextrin was found to resolve the enantiomers with excellent resolution (Rs = 16.2 and 9.1) at pH 4.75 and pH 9.0, respectively. The system containing 12 mM selector in a 50 mM TRIS–acetate buffer was amenable to detect S,S-tapentadol potential optical impurity at 0.1% concentration level.

Besides the opioids the standard management of the World Health Organization suggests NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) alone or in combination to enhance analgesia in malignant and non-malignant pain therapy. The applicability of NSAIDs in a nasal formulation is a new approach in pharmaceutical technology. In order to enhance the nasal absorption of meloxicam (MX) as an NSAID, its salt form, meloxicam potassium monohydrate (MXP), registered by Egis Plc., was investigated in comparison with MX. The physico-chemical properties of the drugs (structural analysis, solubility and dissolution rate) and the mucoadhesivity of nasal formulations were controlled. In vitro and in vivo studies were carried out to determine the nasal applicability of MXP as a drug candidate in pain therapy. It can be concluded that MX and MXP demonstrated the same equilibrium solubility at the pH5.60 of the nasal mucosa (0.017mg/ml); nonetheless, MXP indicated faster dissolution and a higher permeability through the synthetic membrane. The animal studies justified the short Tmax value (15min) and the high AUC of MXP, which is important in acute pain therapy. It can be assumed that the low mucoadhesivity of MXP spray did not increase the residence time in the nasal cavity, and the elimination from the nasal mucosa was therefore faster than in the case of MX. Further experiments are necessary to prove the therapeutic relevance of this MXP-containing innovative intranasal formulation.

This commentary addresses data quality in equilibrium solubility measurement in aqueous solution. Broadly discussed is the “gold standard” shake-flask (SF) method used to measure equilibrium solubility of ionizable drug-like molecules as a function of pH. Many factors affecting the quality of the measurement are recognized. Case studies illustrating the analysis of both solution and solid state aspects of solubility measurement are presented. Coverage includes drug aggregation in solution (sub-micellar, micellar, complexation), use of mass spectrometry to assess aggregation in saturated solutions, solid state characterization (salts, polymorphs, cocrystals, polymorph creation by potentiometric method), solubility type (water, buffer, intrinsic), temperature, ionic strength, pH measurement, buffer issues, critical knowledge of the pKa, equilibration time (stirring and sedimentation), separating solid from saturated solution, solution handling and adsorption to untreated surfaces, solubility units, and tabulation/graphic presentation of reported data. The goal is to present cohesive recommendations that could lead to better assay design, to result in improved quality of measurements, and to impart a deeper understanding of the underlying solution chemistry in suspensions of drug solids.

The purposes of this study are to evaluate if the PAMPA (Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay) permeability and the true partition coefficient could be useful for predicting AUC and MIC data of a group of antibacterial fluoroquinolones (FQs). The protonation macro- and microconstants, the n-octanol/water partition coefficients at isoelectric pHs, and the PAMPA permeability of 11 selected FQs were determined, and used to calculate the true partition coefficient, the interactivity parameter between the acidic and basic group, and the apparent intrinsic permeability. It has been shown that the apparent intrinsic permeability correlates well with the AUC in human, whereas the true partition coefficient and the interactivity parameter correlate with 1/MIC values on two Gram-positive bacteria, namely Streptococcus pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible). The AUC/MIC ratios predicted from these correlations have shown to be in good agreement with the literature values. It is envisaged that the models described in this study could be useful in the development of new FQs by enabling an early prediction of AUC/MIC ratios based on physicochemical properties.

A potentiometric titration study of organic base hydrohalides and quaternary ammonium salts using perchloric acid as the titrant and a mixture of acetic anhydride and acetic acid as the solvent was carried out and the titration mixture was analysed by NMR in order to clarify the chemistry of the reactions involved. It was found that in contrast to the general belief the formation of acetyl halides and titratable free acetate ion does not take place prior to the titration but NMR spectra proved the formation of acetyl halides in the course of the titration. This observation and the fact that the shape of the titration curves depends on the nature of the hydrohaloic acid bound to the base or of the anion in the quaternary ammonium salts led to the conclusion that the titrating agent is acetyl perchlorate formed in situ during the titration. Equations of the reactions involved in the titration process are shown in the paper.

A validated reversed-phase thin-layer chromatographic (RPTLC) method is proposed for parallel estimation of the lipophilicity of chemically diverse neutral compounds or weak acids and bases. To cover a wide range of lipophilicity two optimized chromatographic systems were used - one for determination of log P of low or moderately lipophilic compounds (log P = 0-3) and one for highly lipophilic compounds (log P = 3 6). RP-diC1 silanized silica gel plates were used as stationary phase. Mixtures of water with acetone, acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, l-propanol, 2-propanol, and 1,4-dioxane were investigated as mobile phases. Acetone-water mixtures were found to be optimum for both systems in respect of correlation of RM values with octanol-water partition coefficients. Two chemically diverse sets of calibration compounds were selected to cover ranges of moderate and high lipophilicity. Correlation between log P and chromatographic RM data (log P = aRM + b) was good for both systems; the correlation coefficients (r) of the calibration equations were >0.99. The universal applicability of the optimized chromatographic systems was then tested using 20 randomly selected structurally diverse compounds. There was usually good agreement between log P values obtained by the shake-flask method and by RPTLC. This validated RPTLC method can be regarded as a suitable alternative for rapid and acceptably accurate estimation of the lipophilicity of drug candidates in the early phase of drug research.

The Hammett approach, as a new deductive tool, was introduced to characterize the otherwise inaccessible minor protonation pathway of tenoxicam (1), the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. A total of eight compounds, constituting a systematic series of side chain-substituted analogues of tenoxicam and piroxicam (2), were synthesized and studied in terms of acidbase properties and Hammett constants to identify the ideal replacement of the unprotonated pyridin-2-yl group, a key moiety in both molecules. Hammett constants of the phenyl substituents have been found to be in a linear correlation with the experimental log K values of the enolate sites, the basic moiety of the extended conjugated system in this family of piroxicam derivatives. Then, a similar correlation was observed for the analogous tenoxicam derivatives. After identifying the 2-aza Hammett constant of the pyridin-2-yl group and the corresponding log K value, the site-specific acid–base properties of tenoxicam could be quantitated. This novel method is assessed to be a fine-tuning tool to find the ideal substituent by using analogue-based deductive method to obtain site-specific constants of the minor protonation/deprotonation pathway in drugs and biomolecules. The tenoxicam microconstant values indicate that the enolate moiety is of extremely low basicity (reflected by the =3.70 and =1.09 values), which can, however, be interpreted in terms of the peculiar ring system and the overwhelming electron-withdrawing effects of the adjacent heteroatoms. A diagram depicting the pH-dependent distribution of 1 microspecies is also presented.

A mixture of cosolvents is described that significantly improves the solubility of most pharmaceutical compounds. The mixture consists of equal volumes of MeOH, 1,4-dioxane, and MeCN, thereby containing polar and nonpolar solvents, and is referred to as MDM (from MeOH, dioxane, and MeCN). MDM is mixed with H2O until the required composition is reached. The utility of this system is that it enables analytical measurements to be performed on a wide range of compounds where measurements would be impaired in aqueous solution. We present the physicochemical characteristics of MDM/H2O mixtures (density, dielectric constant, psKw) and the principles of pKa measurement in this solvent/H2O mixture. We also present pKa values in H2O of several drug compounds determined from values measured in MDM/H2O mixtures.

Erlotinib (ERL), the anticancer drug of poor bioavailability, was quantified in terms of bio-relevant physicochemical parameters, such as acid–base properties, lipophilicity and solubility, and a comprehensive study on its inclusion complexation was carried out. The protonation constant of ERL (log K = 5.32) indicates that it exists mainly in deprotonated form at the pH of blood plasma. The high lipophilicity (log p = 2.75) explains its good permeability, while the very low solubility (S0 = 12.46 μM) causes its low bioavailability and renders injection formulation a difficult job. This problem could be alleviated by enhancing ERL solubility through cyclodextrin (CD) inclusion complexation. Therefore, ERL–CD interactions were studied by a number of analytical techniques. The apparent stability constants of ERL with seven different CDs were determined using affinity capillary electrophoresis. Results indicated that the seven-membered β-CD and its derivatives were the most suitable hosts. Using UV Job plot titration 1:1 stoichiometry was determined, confirmed by electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry experiments. The geometry of the inclusion complex was investigated by 2D ROESY NMR techniques, revealing that the ethynylphenyl ring enters the β-CD cavity. Phase-solubility analysis shows greatly enhanced solution concentration by CD complexation. The determined equilibrium and structural information offer molecular basis to elaborate improved drug formulation with enhanced bioavailability.

A novel potentiometric procedure has recently been described for rapid measurement of equilibrium aqueous solubility values of organic acids, bases, and ampholytes that form supersaturated solutions. In this procedure, the equilibrium solubility is actively sought by changing the concentration of the neutral form by adding HCl or KOH titrants and monitoring the rate of change of pH due to precipitation or dissolution in a process called Chasing Equilibrium. In this article, we seek to validate the procedure against a shake-flask protocol for solubility determination. A set of 16 small organic compounds, covering a wide range of solubilities was chosen for the study. Interestingly, while 10 compounds in the study were found to chase equilibrium, the others did not. Kinetic solubility data was also collected. It was noted that kinetic solubility was consistently higher than equilibrium solubility for chasers, but correlated well with equilibrium solubility for nonchasers. The ratio of kinetic to equilibrium solubility indicated a compound's ability to form supersaturated solutions.

The protonation macro- and microconstants have been measured for tyramine at three temperatures using potentiometry combined with UV spectroscopy. The experimentally determined zwitterion/neutral tautomerization equilibrium constant for tyramine in aqueous solution decreases with increasing temperature from log kz = 1.03 at T = 287 K to log k z = 0.39 at T = 310 K. Using the van't Hoff isochore, the tautomerization enthalpy was calculated as −9.3 to −13.4 kcal mol−1 in the indicated temperature range. Theoretical calculations on the solvent effects have been performed using the PCM polarizable continuum dielectric solvent approach at the B3LYP/6-31G* level, and by performing Monte Carlo simulations utilizing the free energy perturbation method. The applied PCM approach, including B3LYP/6-311++G** and MP2/6-31G* single point calculations, as well, consistently favours the neutral form in aqueous solution both for tyramine and dopamine. In contrast, Monte Carlo simulations predict solvent effects that are ...

A new method of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.)—alkalimetry in alcohol–water mixture with potentiometric end-point detection—for the assay of halide salts of alkaloids and other organic N-bases has been investigated using 13 substances. The results were compared to those obtained by nonaqueous direct acidimetry. In general, our measurements show that the Ph. Eur. method may be regarded as an environment-friendly, precise, reproducible approach, with average S.D. ±0.33. However, in six cases out of 13, the method did not work. In these cases, the first inflexion point, which should appear due to the neutralization of a defined, small volume of HCl added to the solution of the sample before the titration, was missing on the potentiometric titration curves. This was observed for papaverine chloride, pilocarpine chloride, pyridoxine chloride, thiamine chloride, histamine dichloride and noscapine chloride; this missing inflexion point hampered the exact measurement of the alkaloid content. This study shows that the method, in the present official form, can be applied only for compounds with pKa values of seven or higher. For the salts of weaker bases, a modified approach (titration in 70% ethanol, without addition of HCl) is proposed.

The migration behavior and separation of 13 quinolone antibacterials were investigated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). In order to predict the electrophoretic mobility, the protonation macroconstants of all the compounds were determined by pH-potentiometric titrations. We proved that the electrophoretic mobility of ionized quinolones (QNs) can be described with Offord's equation, and the migration order depends on their charge-to-mass ratios. A buffer of 25 mM sodium tetraborate adjusted to pH 9.3 was an efficient electrophoresis system for the separation of 12 QNs by capillary zone electrophoresis. This method can be considered a general method to separate quinolone derivatives. Ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin, fluoroquinoles with very similar structural characteristics, were separated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Validation parameters, including linearity and detection and quantification limits, were also determined. Our results prove the applicability of CE for the simultaneous determination of QNs from complex mixtures. Our methods are environment-friendly replacement and improvement of a common high-performance liquid chromatography determination with rapid analysis time without using any organic solvents.

The acid-base chemistry of a tetraprotic, ampholyte ACE-inhibitor, lisinopril was studied by different methods. Potentiometry in aqueous medium and co-solvent technique in methanol-water mixtures as well as 1 H NMR-pH titration were applied for the highly precise measurement of protonation macroconstants. The logK values of lisinopril (at 25.0 °C and 0.15 M ionic strength) were found: logK 1 = 10.75 ± 0.01, logK 2 = 7.13 ± 0.01, logK 3 = 3.13 ± 0.01, logK 4 = 1.63 ± 0.01, calculated as an average of the best two values obtained by independent methods. NMR-pH titration was used to assign the constants to the functional groups and for the examination of site-specific, submolecular basicities of the molecule (determination of protonation microconstants). In the first two well separated protonation steps the macro- and microconstants are identical and assigned to the primary amino group (logK 1 = logk A ) and to the secondary amine basicity (logK 2 = logk B A ), respectively. The two carboxylates exhibit overlapping protonation and characterized first here by microconstants (logk D AB = 2.15 log k C AB = 3.10) revealing that the carboxylate on proline ring has 9 times greater intrinsic basicity than the carboxylate in the side chain. The distribution of protonation species (Lis 2- ; HLis - ; H 2 Lis; H 3 Lis + ; H 4 Lis 2+ ) and microspecies (ABC; ABD) against the pH was calculated and used to interpret the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of lisinopril.

In this work the biorelevant solubility of four drugs representing different acid-base property, wide range of lipohilicity and low aqueous solubility was studied. The equilibrium solubility of rivaroxaban (non-ionizable), furosemide (acid), papaverine (base) and niflumic acid (ampholyte) was determined in simulated gastric fluid (SGF pH 1.2), in simulated intestinal fluid fasted state (FaSSIF pH 6.5) and fed state (FeSSIF pH 5.0) and their corresponding blank buffers at a temperature of 37 °C using saturation shake-flask method. The concentration was measured by optimized HPLC analysis. The solubilizing effect of bile acid/lipid micelles as additive components of biorelevent media (BRM) is expressed with the solubility ratio (SR: SBRM/Sblank buffer) and the food effect was estimated from SFeSSIF/SFaSSIF coefficient. It was revealed that ionization plays primarily role in solubility of compounds which undergo ionization in BRM. The solubilizing effect in FaSSIF was marginal for the neutral compound (rivaroxaban) and for molecules are anionic at pH 6.5 (furosemide and niflumic acid). The higher concentration of solubilizing agents in FeSSIF improved the solubility of papaverine carrying positive charge and niflumic acid being partially zwitterionic at pH 5.0.

The acid-base chemistry of a tetraprotic, ampholyte ACE inhibitor, lisinopril, was studied by different methods. Potentiometry in aqueous medium and a co-solvent technique in methanol-water mixtures as well as 1H NMR-pH titration were applied for the highly precise measurement of protonation macroconstants. The log K values of lisinopril (at 25.0°C and 0.15 M ionic strength) were found: log K1 = 10.75 ± 0.01, log K2 = 7.13 ± 0.01, log K3 = 3.13 ± 0.01, log K4 = 1.63 ± 0.01, calculated as an average of the best two values obtained by independent methods. NMR-pH titration was used to assign the constants to the functional groups and for the examination of site-specific, submolecular basicities of the molecule (determination of protonation microconstants). In the first two well-separated protonation steps, the macro- and microconstants were identical and assigned to the primary amino group (log K1 = log kA) and to the secondary amine basicity (log K2 = log kBA), respectively. The two carboxylates exhibited overlapping protonation characterised first by microconstants (log = 2.15 log = 3.10), revealing that the carboxylate on the proline ring has nine times greater intrinsic basicity than the carboxylate on the side chain. The distribution of protonation species (Lis2-; HLis-; H2Lis; H3Lis+; H4Lis2+) and microspecies (ABC; ABD) as a function of pH was calculated and used to interpret the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of lisinopril.

A novel general approach was described to address many of the challenges of salt solubility determination of drug substances, with data processing and refinement of equilibrium constants encoded in the computer program pDISOL-XTM. The new approach was illustrated by the determinations of the solubility products of diprenorphine hydrochloride, codeine hydrochloride and phosphate, lidocaine hydrochloride and phosphate at 25 oC, using a recently-optimized saturation shake-flask protocol. The effects of different buffers (Britton-Robinson universal and Sörensen phosphate) were compared. Lidocaine precipitates were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and polarization light microscopy. The ionic strength in the studied systems ranged from 0.25 to 4.3 M. Codeine (and possibly diprenorphine) chloride were less soluble than the phosphates for pH > 2. The reverse trend was evident with lidocaine. Diprenorphine saturated solutions showed departure from the predictions of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation in alkaline (pH > 9) solutions, consistent with the formation of a mixed-charge anionic dimer.

In this paper the pH-equilibrium solubility profiles of ionizable drugs are presented. The aim of the present work was to study the validity of the Henderson-Hasselbalch (HH) relationship in the case of structurally diverse weak bases. In the case of monoprotic bases, namely papaverine, promethazine and propafenone the experimental equilibrium solubility data precisely follow the theoretical HH curve until the limit of salt solubility. The common ion effect on salt solubility was found to be significant at low pHs. Deviation from the HH equation in the case of dibasic quetiapine hydrogen fumarate can be easily interpreted with the formation of different salt compositions. The significance of pH control and the effect of the salt form (e.g., fumarate) was also investigated. It is critical that the pKa value and the intrinsic solubility are accurately determined when the HH relationship is used to predict the pH-dependent aqueous solubility of drugs.

In this paper the pH-equilibrium solubility profiles of six organic drugs are presented. The equilibrium solubility values were determined using the saturation shake-flask and the Chasing Equilibrium Solubility (CheqSol) methods. Results obtained by the two methods are in good agreement. The aim of the present work was to study the validity of the Henderson-Hasselbalch (HH) relationship in the case of structurally diverse weak bases. The significance of pH control and the effect of the salt form (e.g., fumarate) was also investigated. In the case of monoprotic bases, namely papaverine, promethazine, propafenone and ticlopidine the experimental solubility data precisely follow the HH equation until the limit of salt solubility. The common ion effect on salt solubility was found to be significant at low pHs. Deviation from the HH equation in the case of dibasic quetiapine hydrogen fumarate and the ampholyte desvenlafaxine hydrogen fumarate can be easily interpreted with the formation of different salt compositions. It was concluded that precise pH control is essential in shake-flask solubility measurements. It is also critical that the pK(a) value and the intrinsic solubility are accurately determined when the HH relationship is used to predict the pH-dependent aqueous solubility of drugs.

Monte Carlo simulations in the NpT ensembles have been performed for the structure exploration of aqueous 1,4-dioxane solutions. Three different systems with all-atom dioxane:TIP4P water molar compositions of 2:500 (code:D2), 8:465 (D8), and 17:425 (D17) modeled solutions of 0.22, 0.88, and 1.86 mol/dm3 concentrations, respectively, at T = 298 K and p = 1 atm. The calculated solution densities increase from 0.992 to 1.002 g/cm3 with increasing dioxane concentration and approach the experimentally determined densities within 1%. This close agreement was achieved by utilizing RESP charges fitted to the in-solution IEF-PCM/B3LYP/6-31G* electrostatic potential of dioxane taken in its chair conformation and recently developed C, H steric parameters for ethers for calculations with a 12-6-1 all-atom potential. Solution structure analyses pointed out that the dioxane molecules arrange in the solutions with favorable distances of 4-8 angstroms for the ring symmetry centers. Within this range not only pairs of rings but triangular triads and tetrads have also been observed with center-center distances

In our previous paper identification methods using chemical reactions and TLC are described for the active ingredients of pharmaceutical preparations in Formula Normales (FoNo VII.). Present paper introduces the development and validation of analytical methods suitable for quantitative determination of paracetamol containing dosage forms in FoNo VII. Titrimetric methods, UV spectroscopy and HPLC are used for assay of paracetamol and accompanying components (e.g. codeine, papaverine, caffeine and acetylsalicylic acid) in these preparations.

In this paper the validation of pKa determination in MDM-water mixtures is presented. The MDM-water mixture is a new multicomponent cosolvent mixture (consisting of equal volumes of methanol, dioxane and acetonitrile, as organic solvents) that dissolves a wide range of poorly water-soluble compounds. The cosolvent dissociation constants (p(s)Ka) of 50 chemically diverse compounds (acids, bases and ampholytes) were measured in 15-56 wt% MDM-water mixtures by potentiometric or spectrophotometric titration and the aqueous pKa values obtained by extrapolation. Three different extrapolation procedures were compared in order to choose the best extrapolation in MDM-water mixture using a sub-set of 30 water-soluble compounds. The extrapolated results are in good agreement with pKa values measured in aqueous medium. No significant difference was found among these extrapolation procedures thus the widely used Yasuda-Shedlovsky plot was proposed for MDM cosolvent also. Further we also present that the single point estimation based on measurement in 20%/v MDM-mixture using a general calibration equation may be suitable for rapid pKa determination in the early phase of drug research.

The European Pharmacopoeia introduced a new alkalimetric method for assay of alkaloid (and other N-base) salts. The principle of method is: after preliminary addition of small amount of hydrochloric acid, titration is carried out with 0.1 N NaOH in alcohol/water mixture with potentiometric end-point detection. The applicability and reproducibility of this method have been examined at 11 substances. The results of alkalimetric method were compared to those obtained by nonaqueous titration (Ph. Hg. VII.). The method of Ph. Eur. is well reproducible (SD+/- 0.50), however it could not be applied in case of some compounds (4 cases out of 11). Authors revealed that for the titration carried out according to the present prescription of Ph. Eur. 4., minimum pKa 7 should be the basicity of the alkaloids. They suggest to perform the titration in 70% alcohol and without preliminary addition of HCl for weaker bases.