Solid-state NMR (SSNMR) (1)H T1 and T1ρ relaxation times were used to evaluate the miscibility of amorphous solid dispersions of nifedipine (NIF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) prepared by three different methods: melt quenching in the typical lab setting, spray drying and melt quenching in the NMR rotor while spinning. Of the five compositions prepared by melt quenching in the lab setting, the 95:5 and 90:10 NIF:PVP (w:w) amorphous solid dispersions were not miscible while 75:25, 60:40, and 50:50 NIF:PVP dispersions were miscible by the (1)H T1ρ measurements. The domain size of the miscible systems was estimated to be less than 4.5 nm. Amorphous solid dispersions with composition of 90:10 NIF:PVP prepared by spray drying and melt quenching in the NMR rotor showed miscibility by (1)H T1ρ values. Variable-temperature SSNMR (1)H T1ρ relaxation measurements revealed a change in relaxation time at approximately 20 °C below Tg, suggesting increased molecular mobility above that temperature.

Hydrogen bonding interactions in amorphous indomethacin and amorphous solid dispersions of indomethacin with poly(vinylpyrrolidone), or PVP, and poly(vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate), or PVP/VA, were investigated quantitatively using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Indomethacin that was (13)C isotopically labeled at the carboxylic acid carbon was used to selectively analyze the carbonyl region of the spectrum. Deconvolution of the carboxylic acid carbon peak revealed that 59% of amorphous indomethacin molecules were hydrogen bonded through carboxylic acid cyclic dimers, 15% were in disordered carboxylic acid chains, 19% were hydrogen bonded through carboxylic acid and amide interactions, and the remaining 7% were free of hydrogen bonds. The standard dimerization enthalpy and entropy of amorphous indomethacin were estimated to be -38 kJ/mol and -91 J/(mol · K), respectively, using polystyrene as the "solvent". Polymers such as PVP and PVP/VA disrupted indomethacin self-interactions and formed hydrogen bonds with the drug. The carboxylic acid dimers were almost completely disrupted with 50% (wt) of PVP or PVP/VA. The fraction of disordered carboxylic acid chains also decreased as the polymer content increased. The solid-state NMR results were compared with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations from the literature. The present work highlights the potential of (13)C solid-state NMR to detect and quantify various hydrogen bonded species in amorphous solid dispersions as well as to serve as an experimental validation of MD simulations.

Topical delivery of therapeutics to the posterior segment of the eye remains the “holy grail” of ocular drug delivery. As an example, anti–vascular endothelial growth factor biologics, such as ranibizumab, aflibercept, and bevacizumab, are delivered by intravitreal injection to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration and, although these drugs have revolutionized treatment of the disease, less invasive alternatives to intravitreal injection are desired. Multiple reports in the literature have demonstrated topical delivery of both small and large molecules to the back of the eye in small animal models. Despite this progress, successful translation to larger species, and ultimately humans, has yet to be demonstrated. Selection of animal models with relevant ocular anatomy and physiology, along with appropriate experimental design, is critical to enable more relevant feasibility assessments and increased probability of successful translation.

Similar to an increase in temperature at constant moisture content, water vapor sorption by an amorphous glassy material at constant temperature causes the material to transition into the rubbery state. However, comparatively little research has investigated the measurement of the critical relative humidity (RHc) at which the glass transition occurs at constant temperature. Thus, the central objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the glass transition temperature (Tg), determined using thermal methods, and the RHc obtained using an automatic water vapor sorption instrument. Dynamic dewpoint isotherms were obtained for amorphous polydextrose from 15 to 40 °C. RHc was determined using an optimized 2nd-derivative method; however, 2 simpler RHc determination methods were also tested as a secondary objective. No statistical difference was found between the 3 RHc methods. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) Tg values were determined using polydextrose equilibrated from 11.3% to 57.6% RH. Both standard DSC and modulated DSC (MDSC) methods were employed, since some of the polydextrose thermograms exhibited a physical aging peak. Thus, a tertiary objective was to compare Tg values obtained using 3 different methods (DSC first scan, DSC rescan, and MDSC), to determine which method(s) yielded the most accurate Tg values. In general, onset and midpoint DSC first scan and MDSC Tg values were similar, whereas onset and midpoint DSC rescan values were different. State diagrams of RHc and experimental temperature and Tg and %RH were compared. These state diagrams, though obtained via very different methods, showed relatively good agreement, confirming our hypothesis that water vapor sorption isotherms can be used to directly detect the glassy to rubbery transition. Practical Application: The food polymer science (FPS) approach, pioneered by Slade and Levine, is being successfully applied in the food industry for understanding, improving, and developing food processes and products. However, despite its extreme usefulness, the Tg, a key element of the FPS approach, remains a challenging parameter to routinely measure in amorphous food materials, especially complex materials. This research demonstrates that RHc values, obtained at constant temperature using an automatic water vapor sorption instrument, can be used to detect the glassy to rubbery transition and are similar to the Tg values obtained at constant %RH, especially considering the very different approaches of these 2 methods--a transition from surface adsorption to bulk absorption (water vapor sorption) versus a step change in the heat capacity (DSC thermal method).

The relative humidity at which crystalline materials begin adsorbing large quantities of water from the atmosphere, termed the deliquescence point (RH o ), is an important temperature dependent stability parameter. The RH o of a number of food and pharmaceutical materials has been determined at 25 • C, but it is difficult to find RH o values in the literature at other temperatures, even for common food materials, such as sucrose. Thus, the primary objective of this research was to assess the effect of temperature on RH o for crystalline sucrose using a new automatic isotherm generator. A secondary objective was to determine and compare the RH o value using three other methods (RH after the MC step change method, and two smoothing and second derivative methods [Savitzky-Golay and Yuan and others]), in addition to the commonly used linear extrapolation method. The AquaSorp DDI method provides an accurate, fast, and convenient means of measuring the initial real-time a w values of the adsorption of water by the crystalline solid, making the DDI method an outstanding RH o measuring method. A decrease in RH o with increasing temperature was observed and attributed to increasing sucrose solubility with increasing temperature. No statistical difference (p = 0.05) was found between the four RH o determination methods at each temperature, with the linear extrapolation method yielding RH o values of 85.9, 85.7, and 84.0% at 15, 25, and 35 • C, respectively.