Atomic pairwise distribution function analysis of the amorphous phase prepared by different manufacturing routes

Amlodipine besilate, a calcium channel antagonist, exists in several solid forms. Processing of anhydrate and dihydrate forms of this drug may lead to solid state changes, and is therefore the focus of this study. Milling was performed for the anhydrate form, whereas the dihydrate form was subjected to quench cooling thereby creating an amorphous form of the drug from both starting materials. The milled and quench cooled samples were, together with the crystalline starting materials, analyzed with X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Raman spectroscopy and atomic pair-wise distribution function (PDF) analysis of the XRPD pattern. When compared to XRPD and Raman spectroscopy, the PDF analysis was superior in displaying the difference between the amorphous samples prepared by milling and quench cooling approaches of the two starting materials.