Investigation of the Drug Stability at the Amorphous State Using Thermal Analysis

Formulation of poorly water-soluble crystalline drugs in their amorphous counterpart is a common approach to enhance their biodisponibility. In this study, the amorphous forms of ketoprofen and flurbiprofen were obtained by supercooling of the melt in a DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) apparatus and then investigated, especially under the stability point of view. The average rate of molecular motions at any given temperature is probably the most important parameter to know for amorphous pharmaceutical materials, and it was used to explain and predict the stability of ketoprofen and flurbiprofen. A quantitative estimate of the product’s behavior upon storage is obtained with additional data, such as the heat capacity of crystalline and amorphous samples and the distribution of molecular relaxation times. Amorphous flurbiprofen demonstrated greater physical stability at any aging temperature tested, when compared to ketoprofen and a different dependence from aging temperature. Both amorphous drugs could be classified as ”fragile” ones.