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Published on: September 26, 2016
A Miscibility Study of p(MMA-co-HEMA)-Based Polymer Blends by Thermal Analysis and Solid-State NMR Relaxometry
Hannah Cornelis1, Elien Derveaux2, Abhishek Singh3
1Drug Delivery and Disposition, KU Leuven, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Campus Gasthuisberg ON2, Herestraat 49 b921, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
None:
Ternary amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) consist of a multicomponent carrier with the aim of improving physical stability or dissolution performance. A polymer blend as a carrier that combines a water-insoluble and a water-soluble polymer may delay the drug release rate, minimizing the risk of precipitation from the supersaturated state. Different microstructures of the ternary ASD may result in different drug release performances; hence, understanding the phase morphology of the polymer blend is crucial prior to drug incorporation. The objective of this study is to investigate the miscibility of the water-insoluble p(MMA-co-HEMA) and water-soluble polymers such as HPC, HPMC, HPMC-AS, and Soluplus. To prepare the polymer blends, p(MMA-co-HEMA) was spray dried in 80/20 and 90/10 (w/w) ratios with one of the water-soluble polymers. Thermal analysis (mDSC and DMA) and solid-state (ss)NMR relaxometry were applied to study the miscibility of these blends. No conclusions regarding miscibility could be drawn from the Tg measurements by thermal analysis. However, phase-separation could be demonstrated in all blends by ssNMR relaxometry. Moreover, by measuring both the T1ρH and T1H relaxation times, domain sizes between 5 and 50 nm could be estimated. This work shows the importance of using complementary analytical techniques to investigate polymer miscibility.
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