Elucidating Molecular- and Particle-Level Changes during the Annealing of a Micronized Crystalline Drug

Micronization of crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients can lead to formation of a thermodynamically unstable material with surface disorder. This material undergoes structural stabilization and particle-level changes over time that, in turn, alters the surface properties and interparticle interactions of the micronized drug. The unstable nature of the micronized drug can lead to variability in the performance of dry powder inhaler drug products. To improve the physicochemical stability of the micronized drug, an annealing step is often introduced. However, there is limited understanding of changes in the micronized drug under different annealing conditions. In this study, we examine the molecular- and particle-level changes occurring in a micronized drug during annealing under varying temperature and humidity conditions using orthogonal techniques. We demonstrate the use of surface free energy (SFE) measured by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) to monitor surface-specific changes. Micronization led to an increase in SFE, which progressively reduced during annealing. SFE trends correlated with the molecular-level surface disorder patterns measured by relative humidity perfusion microcalorimetry. The interparticle interactions tracked using IGC and atomic force microscopy show that as the micronized drug stabilized, there was a transition from dominant drug-drug cohesive forces to drug-lactose adhesive forces. For the nonhygroscopic model compound, combined high temperature-high humidity conditions showed fastest annealing kinetics. Further, the SFE descriptor enabled us to differentiate the extent of mechanical activation of the neat micronized drug and co-micronized drug-magnesium stearate blends. The study identifies tools for characterizing postmicronization material changes that can help develop materials with consistent quality.