Physical stability of amorphous pharmaceuticals: Importance of configurational thermodynamic quantities and molecular mobility

This work relates the thermodynamic quantities (Gc, Hc, and Sc) and the molecular mobility values (1/tau) of five structurally diverse amorphous compounds to their crystallization behavior. The model compounds included: ritonavir, ABT-229, fenofibrate, sucrose, and acetaminophen. Modulated temperature DSC was used to measure the heat capacities as a function of temperature for the amorphous and crystalline phases of each compound. Knowledge of the heat capacities and fusion data allowed calculation of the configurational thermodynamic quantities and the Kauzmann temperatures (T(K)) using established relationships. The molecular relaxation time constants (tau) were then calculated from the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher representation of the Adam-Gibbs model. Amorphous samples were heated at 1 K/min and a reduced crystallization temperature, defined as (Tc - Tg)/(Tm-Tg), was used to compare crystallization tendencies. Crystallization was observed for all compounds except ritonavir. The configurational free energy values (Gc) show that thermodynamic driving forces for crystallization follow the order: ritonavir > acetaminophen approximately fenofibrate > sucrose > ABT-229. The entropic barrier to crystallization, which is inversely related to the probability that the molecules are in the proper orientation, followed the order: ritonavir > fenofibrate > ABT-229 > acetaminophen approximately sucrose. Molecular mobility values, which are proportional to molecular collision rates, followed the order: acetaminophen > fenofibrate > sucrose > ABT-229 approximately ritonavir. Crystallization studies under nonisothermal conditions revealed that compounds with the highest entropic barriers and lowest mobilities were most difficult to crystallize, regardless of the thermodynamic driving forces. This investigation demonstrates the importance of both configurational entropy and molecular mobility to understanding the physical stability of amorphous pharmaceuticals.