Pharmaceutical Cocrystals: Bridging Crystal Engineering and Drug Delivery for Improved Bioavailability (Review Article)

Author(s): Akarapu Spandana1*, Arepu Manisha, Gondi Navya, Unnisa Saniya, Phad Nikhil

Abstract: Pharmaceutical cocrystals are crystalline materials made up of a neutral co-former and an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in a specific stoichiometric ratio. These materials are held together by non-covalent interactions like van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding, and π–π stacking. A successful crystal engineering technique for enhancing the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characteristics of poorly soluble medications without changing their pharmacological activity is cocrystallization. Cocrystals provide more flexibility in altering drug properties like solubility, dissolution rate, stability, hygroscopicity, compressibility, and bioavailability than traditional solid forms like salts and polymorphs. Solvent evaporation, grinding techniques, slurry conversion, melt crystallization, spray drying, hot-melt extrusion, and supercritical fluid technology are some of the methods used to prepare cocrystals. Analytical methods like differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dissolution studies are frequently used to characterize and evaluate cocrystals. Pharmaceutical cocrystals have drawn a lot of attention lately because of their potential to solve formulation issues with poorly water-soluble medications. A number of cocrystal-based products have also made it to the pharmaceutical market, indicating their significance in both industry and medicine. In order to improve drug performance and patient compliance, co-crystallization is a promising and adaptable approach in contemporary drug development.

PAGES: 160-173  |  0 VIEWS  2 DOWNLOADS