Formulation Approaches to Combat Moisture Effects on Drug and Nutraceutical Formulations
A special issue of Scientia Pharmaceutica (ISSN 2218-0532).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 586
Special Issue Editor
Interests: drug formulation; characterization of dosage forms; formulation of natural products with therapeutic perspectives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The introduction of new drug forms such as pharmaceutical salts, co-crystals, and amorphous and co-amorphous systems, aiming to improve solubility, permeability, and targeting effectiveness, has raised concerns about their survival under environmental conditions due to the interference of the environmental moisture in the formation and strength of hydrogen bonds and ionic forces that hold these forms together. Furthermore, there is a large bank of drug molecules that can be dramatically influenced by the environmental moisture due to their deliquescent tendency, polymorphic and solvate conversion, and mechanical deterioration (de-mixing of powders, packing, flowability)—all of which affect therapeutic efficacy, and therefore necessitate the use of new approaches during formulation work that not only ensure functionality but also offer protection of the bioactive compounds in the long-term. The problem is not limited to drug molecules, but extends to the carriers used in drug formulations due to the influence of moisture on their properties, mainly by alteration of their glass transition, and hence matrix structure. The above considerations apply no less to nutraceuticals and food products that contain essential oils, due to the volatile nature and to the chemical instability of the ingredients, thus necessitating encapsulation or dispersion into suitable matrices able to resist the penetration of environmental moisture and loss of effectiveness.
In this Special Issue, contributions of research work and reviews are invited that report cases where moisture-sensitive drugs and nutraceuticals have been formulated using new approaches and technological advancements by the application of modern and established processes such as spray-drying, hot melt granulation and extrusion, electrospinning and electrospraying systems, dry granulation, direct compression, and coating in conjunction with modified or novel non-toxic excipients. The application of mathematical models to describe the kinetics of moisture uptake, moisture distribution and its effect on molecular structure by the application of analytical methods, quantitative estimation of the effectiveness of the applied processes and formulations, and predictive models for stability are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Ioannis Nikolakakis
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- tablets
- capsules
- pellets
- powders
- oral
- pulmonary
- hygroscopicity
- polymorphism
- crystallinity
- flowability
- packing
- release
- bioavailability
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