Pharmaceutical cocrystals: A review of preparations, physicochemical properties and applications

Pharmaceutical cocrystals are multicomponent systems in which at least one component is an active pharmaceutical ingredient and the others are pharmaceutically acceptable ingredients. Cocrystallization of a drug substance with a coformer is a promising and emerging approach to improve the performanc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Minshan Guo, Xiaojie Sun, Jiahui Chen, Ting Cai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-08-01
Series:Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211383521001027
Description
Summary:Pharmaceutical cocrystals are multicomponent systems in which at least one component is an active pharmaceutical ingredient and the others are pharmaceutically acceptable ingredients. Cocrystallization of a drug substance with a coformer is a promising and emerging approach to improve the performance of pharmaceuticals, such as solubility, dissolution profile, pharmacokinetics and stability. This review article presents a comprehensive overview of pharmaceutical cocrystals, including preparation methods, physicochemical properties, and applications. Furthermore, some examples of drug cocrystals are highlighted to illustrate the effect of crystal structures on the various aspects of active pharmaceutical ingredients, such as physical stability, chemical stability, mechanical properties, optical properties, bioavailability, sustained release and therapeutic effect. This review will provide guidance for more efficient design and manufacture of pharmaceutical cocrystals with desired physicochemical properties and applications.
ISSN:2211-3835