High Energy Ordered Mixture for Improving the Dissolution Rate of Sparingly Soluble Compounds

Abstract

Bioavailability of a sparingly soluble drug is often limited by the rate of dissolution of the drug substance. The drug in a micronized form is generally employed to maximize the bioavailability. However, the micronized drugs tend to agglomerates and do not always exhibit an improved dissolution rate. In this study, a simple processing using a high energy mill was demonstrated as an effective means to utilize the entire surface area available for drug release of the micronized drug. An experimental hydrophobic drug in a micronized form was milled with a carrier, hydrous lactose using Micropulverizer to achieve a uniform mixture so-called “high energy ordered mixture”. The high energy ordered mixture provided a contact surface area taking part in dissolution 4-fold greater than the micronized drug agglomerates. Therefore, the dissolution was significantly improved, irrespective of test parameters such as agitation and the presence of surfactant. This high energy ordered mixture provided the advantages over a simple ordered mixture for: (i) complete deaggregation of the micronized drug to fine primary particles, (ii) improving the efficiency of the carrier by increasing contact surface area, and (iii) enhancing the bonding effect between the drug and lactose particles due to free water molecules released from the crystal lattices of hydrous lactose during milling. This procedure could be applied to overcome dissolution problems of sparingly soluble drugs with cohesive nature.