title: Electrospun formulations containing crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the use of electrospinning for forming solid dispersions containing crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and understand the relevant properties of the resulting materials.
  
  
  METHODS
  Free surface electrospinning was used to prepare nanofiber mats of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and crystalline albendazole (ABZ) or famotidine (FAM) from a suspension of the drug crystals in a polymer solution. SEM and DSC were used to characterize the dispersion, XRD was used to determine the crystalline polymorph, and dissolution studies were performed to determine the influence of the preparation method on the dissolution rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The electrospun fibers contained 31 wt% ABZ and 26 wt% FAM for the 1:2 ABZ:PVP and 1:2 FAM:PVP formulations, respectively, and both APIs retained their crystalline polymorphs throughout processing. The crystals had an average size of about 10 μm and were well-dispersed throughout the fibers, resulting in a higher dissolution rate for electrospun tablets than for powder tablets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Previously used to produce amorphous formulations, electrospinning has now been demonstrated to be a viable option for producing fibers containing crystalline API. Due to the dispersion of the crystals in the polymer, tablets made from the fiber mats may also exhibit improved dissolution properties over traditional powder compression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Ames St, E19-502b, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Blair Kathryn
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Brettmann
authors.forename: Kamyu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Allan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Myerson
authors.forename: Bernhardt L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Trout
mesh_terms: D015766:Albendazole / Q000737:chemistry*; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000295:instrumentation; D003460:Crystallization; D004867:Equipment Design; D015738:Famotidine / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D011205:Povidone / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013607:Tablets; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D013607:Tablets; D015738:Famotidine; D015766:Albendazole; D011205:Povidone