A solid dispersion (SPD) of carbamazepine (CBZ) with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMC-AS) was prepared by the spray drying method. The apparent solubility (37 °C, pH 7.4) of CBZ observed with the SPD was over 3 times higher than the solubility of unprocessed CBZ. The supersaturated solution was stable for 7 days. A higher concentration of CBZ in aqueous medium was also achieved by mixing with Poloxamer 407 (P407), a solubilizing agent. From permeation studies of CBZ using Caco-2 monolayers and dialysis membranes, we observed improved CBZ permeation across the membrane in the supersaturated solution of CBZ/HPMC-AS SPD. On the contrary, the CBZ-solubilized P407 solution exhibited poor permeation by CBZ. The chemical shifts of CBZ on the (1)H NMR spectrum from CBZ/HPMC-AS SPD solution were not altered significantly by coexistence with HPMC-AS. In contrast, an upfield shift of CBZ was observed in the CBZ/P407 solution. The spin-lattice relaxation time (T(1)) over spin-spin relaxation time (T(2)) indicated that the mobility of CBZ in the HPMC-AS solution was much lower than that in water. Meanwhile, the mobility of CBZ in P407 solution was significantly higher than that in water. NMR data indicate that CBZ does not strongly interact with HPMC-AS. CBZ mobility was suppressed due to self-association and microviscosity around CBZ, which do not affect permeation behavior. Most of the CBZ molecules in the CBZ/P407 solution were solubilized in the hydrophobic core of P407, and a few were free to permeate the membrane. The molecular state of CBZ, as evaluated by NMR measurements, directly correlated with permeation behavior.

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Eleven guest drugs with planar structures were incorporated into the intermolecular spaces between polyethylene glycol/γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD)-polypseudorotaxanes by a sealed-heating method. Drug incorporation changed the crystal packing of γ-CD from hexagonal- to monoclinic-columnar forms, without dependence on the guest species. The incorporation of guest drugs was size dependent and stoichiometric. Guest drugs with one benzene ring and maximum cross sectional areas of ca. 40–55 Å2 exhibited a drug to γ-CD stoichiometry of 2:1. Meanwhile, the stoichiometry was 1:1 for drugs with 2–3 benzene rings and maximum cross sectional areas of ca. 60–75 Å2. More sterically bulky drugs (four and five benzene rings) did form complexes, though the complexation efficiency was insufficient to form stoichiometric complexes, due to steric hindrance. The volume of intermolecular space of the host was estimated to be larger than that of a β-CD cavity and as large as that of a γ-CD cavity. Hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions worked as driving forces for the complexation because polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with high log P values formed the complex. The dissolution property of the hydrophobic pharmaceutical drug naproxen was clearly improved by the complexation because naproxen existed in a monomolecular state in the complex.