Influence of solvent composition on the miscibility and physical stability of naproxen/PVP K 25 solid dispersions prepared by cosolvent spray-drying.

PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of solvent properties on the phase behavior and physical stability of spray-dried solid dispersions containing naproxen and PVP K 25 prepared from binary cosolvent systems containing methanol, acetone and dichloromethane.

METHODS: The viscosity, polymer globular size and evaporation rate of the spray-drying feed solutions were characterized. The solid dispersions were prepared by spray-drying drug-polymer solutions in binary solvent blends containing different proportions of each solvent. The phase behavior was investigated with mDSC, pXRD, FT-IR and TGA. Further, physical stability of solid dispersions was assessed by analyzing after storage at 75% RH.

RESULTS: The solid dispersions prepared from solvent/anti-solvent mixture showed better miscibility and physical stability over those prepared from the mixtures of good solvents. Thus, solid dispersions prepared from dichloromethane-acetone exhibited the best physicochemical attributes followed by those prepared from methanol-acetone. FT-IR analysis revealed differential drug-polymer interaction in solid dispersions prepared from various solvent blends, upon the exposure to elevated humidity.

CONCLUSION: Spray-drying from a cocktail of good solvent and anti-solvent with narrower volatility difference produces solid dispersions with better miscibility and physical stability resulting from the simultaneous effect on the polymer conformation and better dispersivity of drug.