NMR characterization of a novel bile acid sequestrant, DMP 504

DMP 504, a potential bile acid sequestrant for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, is a highly insoluble, cross-linked polymer which does not lend itself to ordinary means of characterization used for drug substances in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, alternative characterization techniques have been sought. As part of an effort into extensive characterization of DMP 504 drug substance, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was employed to provide insight into details of the DMP 504 polymer structure. The primary motivation for determining the structure of the polymer chain is to relate the DMP 504 structure to its performance properties as a bile acid sequestrant. Characterization of the polymer chain and understanding of the structural basis of its properties is essential in optimizing and controlling the manufacture of reproducible drug substance. NMR has proven a versatile tool for the description of polymer structure and dynamics because of the wide range of nuclear interactions affecting the NMR signal. This allows the design of experiments to elicit information about specific polymer interactions or properties. The methods of sample preparation utilized to obtain NMR spectra of the insoluble polymer, as well as a discussion and comparison of results for the characterization of DMP 504 obtained using several different NMR techniques will be presented.