The distinction between surface and
bulk crystallization of amorphous
pharmaceuticals, as well as the importance of surface crystallization
for pharmaceutical performance, is becoming increasingly evident.
An emerging strategy in stabilizing the amorphous drug form is to
utilize thin coatings at the surface. While the physical stability
of systems coated with pharmaceutical polymers has recently been studied,
the effect on dissolution performance as a function of storage time,
as a further necessary step toward the success of these formulations,
has not been previously studied. Furthermore, the effect of coating
thickness has not been elucidated. This study investigated the effect
of these polymer-coating parameters on the interplay between amorphous
surface crystallization and drug dissolution for the first time. The
study utilized simple tablet-like coated dosage forms, comprising
a continuous amorphous drug core and thin polymer coating (hundreds
of nanometers to a micrometer thick). Monitoring included analysis
of both the solid-state of the model drug (with SEM, XRD, and ATR
FTIR spectroscopy) and dissolution performance (and associated morphology
and solid-state changes) after different storage times. Stabilization
of the amorphous form (dependent on the coating thickness) and maintenance
of early-stage intrinsic dissolution rates characteristic for the
unaged amorphous drug were achieved. However, dissolution in the latter
stages was likely inhibited by the presence of a polymer at the surface.
Overall, this study introduced a versatile coated system for studying
the dissolution of thin-coated amorphous dosage forms suitable for
different drugs and coating agents. It demonstrated the importance
of multiple factors that need to be taken into consideration when
aiming to achieve both physical stability and improved release during
the shelf life of amorphous formulations.