Insights into the early dissolution events of amlodipine using UV imaging and Raman spectroscopy

Traditional dissolution testing determines drug release to the bulk, but does not enable an understanding of the events happening close to the surface of a solid or a tablet. UV imaging is a new imaging approach that can be used to study the dissolution behavior of chemical compounds. The UV imaging instrumentation offers recording of absorbance maps with a high spatial and temporal resolution which facilitates the abundant collection of information regarding the evolving solution concentrations. In this study, UV imaging was used to visualize the dissolution behavior of amlodipine besylate (amorphous and dihydrate forms) and amlodipine free base. The dissolution of amlodipine besylate was faster from the amorphous form than from the crystalline forms. The UV imaging investigations suggested that a solvent mediated phase transformation occurred for the amorphous amlodipine besylate and the amlodipine free base samples. Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm and probe the changes at the solid surface occurring upon contact with the dissolution media and verified the recrystallization of the amorphous form to the monohydrate. The combination of UV imaging and Raman spectroscopy is an efficient tool to obtain a deeper insight into the early events of the dissolution process.