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Published on: July 4, 2014
Dissolution Profiles of Carbamazepine Cocrystals with Cis-Trans Isomeric Coformers
Maaya Omori1, Hibiki Yamamoto1, Fumiya Matsui1
1Molecular Pharmaceutics Lab, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1, Noji-higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan.
Purpose:
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the dissolution profiles of cocrystals with cis-trans isomeric coformers. Previously, the carbamazepine (CBZ) cocrystals with even-carbon dicarboxylic acids showed higher supersaturation than those with odd-carbon ones, attributed to particle surface solution-mediated phase transformation (PS-SMPT) to CBZ dihydrate (CBZ DH). However, it has been unknown whether this odd-even pattern holds for cis-trans isomeric coformers.
Method:
CBZ cocrystals with maleic acid (MLE) and fumaric acid (FUM) (CBZ-FUM anhydrate (CBZ-FUM AH) and monohydrate (CBZ-FUM H2O)) were employed as model cocrystals. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), polyvinylpyrrolidone, and polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) were used as precipitation inhibitors. Dissolution tests were performed under a non-sink condition. Residual particles were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscope, and scanning electron microscope.
Results:
All cocrystals showed little supersaturation in the absence of a polymer. In 0.1% HPMC, CBZ-FUM AH showed significant supersaturation, whereas CBZ-MLE and CBZ-FUM H2O did not for the first two hours. HPMC reduced the initial dissolution rate of CBZ-MLE and CBZ-FUM H2O while inducing the highest supersaturation among the polymers after 96 h. The particle surface changed from a smooth plane to a striped pattern, but little or no CBZ DH was detected.
Conclusion:
The cocrystals with cis-trans isomeric coformers showed different dissolution profiles. HPMC increased the dissolution rate of CBZ-FUM AH by inhibiting PS-SMPT but reduced the dissolution rate of CBZ-MLE and CBZ-FUM H2O without inducing PS-SMPT. The striped pattern was suggested to be due to surface etching rather than PS-SMPT.
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Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...

