Application of differential scanning calorimetry to the study of solid drug dispersions

The present study describes the application of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to ascertain the crystalline state of a drug with a melting point of approximately 53 degrees C after dispersion on hydrophilic carriers by either simple mixing or by fusion. The carriers examined include polyethylene glycol 6000 and colloidal silicon dioxides. The most interesting of the systems investigated, in which the drug is gradually transformed from the crystalline to the amorphous state at room temperature, are physical mixtures of the drug and colloidal silicon dioxides. The crystalline transformation is manifested by the gradual decrease in the endothermic transition energy of the physical mixture with time. The crystalline transformation is characteristically biphasic with initially fast first-order kinetics, followed by a slow conversion process. The rate of transformation is dependent on the drug-silicon dioxide ratio, temperature, and certain physical properties of the silicon dioxides. An inverse relationship exists between transition energy and the in vitro dissolution rate of the drug in the physical mixtures with silicon dioxide. This suggests that DSC may provide a useful method for evaluating the effects of formulation variables upon dissolution rate.