Improving Stability and Dissolution of Amorphous Clofazimine by Polymer Nano-Coating

To inhibit the surface crystallization and enhance the dissolution of the basic amorphous drug clofazimine by polymer nano-coating.

The free surface of amorphous clofazimine was coated by dip coating in an alginate solution at pH 7. The stability of the coated amorphous drug against crystallization was evaluated by X-ray diffraction and light microscopy. The effect of coating on dissolution rate was measured in simulated gastric fluid in an USP-II apparatus at 37°C.

At pH 7, the weak base clofazimine (pK_a = 8.5) is positively charged, while the weak alginic acid (pK_a = 3.5) is negatively charged, allowing coating by electrostatic deposition. Coated amorphous particles remain nearly amorphous after one year under the accelerated testing condition 40°C/75% R.H. and show faster dissolution than uncoated particles. In the first hour of dissolution, coated amorphous particles dissolve 50% faster than uncoated amorphous particles, and a factor of 3 faster than crystalline particles of the same size.

A pharmaceutically acceptable polymer, alginate, is coated on amorphous clofazimine by electrostatic deposition and effectively inhibits its surface crystallization and enhances its dissolution rate. This is the first time the nano-coating technique is applied to a basic drug using the principle of electrostatic deposition, demonstrating the generality of the approach.