Interaction between water and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) containing polyethylene glycol

Information on the interaction between water and polymers is indispensable for manufacturing solid dispersion of a drug by hot-melt extrusion because this interaction affects various properties of the water-polymer mixtures, such as their viscoelastic properties. In this study, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) K30 (PVP) containing 0%, 10%, and 20% poly(ethylene glycol) 400 (PEG) was used as model amorphous polymers. The interaction of water with these polymers was assessed by the evaluation of the glass transition temperature (Tg), the point on the isotherm corresponding to the weight of sorbed water required to form a complete monolayer on the solid surface (apparent Wm), and the maximal amount of nonfreezing water, which were measured by differential scanning calorimetry and water sorption isotherms. In all of the systems with a water content below a certain water fraction (0.1 for PVP, 0.12 for PVP-PEG 10%, and 0.16 for PVP-PEG 20%), the Tg values were successfully predicted using theoretical equations, whereas the experimental Tg values were higher than predicted for those with a water content above these water fraction levels. In addition, these values of water fraction are similar to the apparent W(m) values determined using the Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer (GAB) equation (0.110, 0.117, and 0.147 weight fraction of water for PVP, PVP-PEG 10%, and PVP-PEG 20%, respectively). Nonfreezing water is detected above 0.47, 0.49, and 0.51 weight fraction of water for PVP, PVP-PEG 10%, and PVP-PEG 20%, respectively. Miscibility between water and PVP or PVP-PEG seems to change according to the water content in the system. All parameters increase with the concentration of PEG in the sample. This may be explained by the fact that PEG has a larger number of polymer repeating units, which may therefore interact with water more than PVP.