Solid state characterization of glyburide-cyclodextrin co-ground products

Natural crystalline (alpha-, beta-, gamma-) and amorphous derivative (hydroxypropyl-beta- and methyl-beta-) cyclodextrins were selected as potential carriers for obtaining, through a co-grinding technique, a stable activated amorphous form of glyburide with improved dissolution properties. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to investigate solid-state modifications of the drug induced by co-grinding with the selected carriers in a high energy vibrational micro-mill. X-ray powder diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy were employed as additional techniques to support DSC data. Equimolar drug : cyclodextrin physical mixtures were co-ground for different times (up to 60 min) at constant vibration frequency (24 Hz). A progressive drug amorphization with increasing grinding time was observed in all binary systems, but, interestingly, different degrees of sensitivity to the mechanical-chemical activation were evident. In fact, blends with natural cyclodextrins, despite the initial higher crystallinity than those with the amorphous derivatives, required the same or shorter co-grinding times (60 min) to achieve complete drug amorphization. Stability studies indicated no appreciable drug recrystallization in co-ground products after 4 months storage in sealed containers at 25degreesC or 1 month at 25degreesC and 75% RH. No stability differences were detected between products with natural or derivative cyclodextrins. The results accounted for the suitability of cyclodextrin co-grinding technique to obtain and stabilize glyburide in the activated amorphous form.