Characterization of the Time Scales of Molecular Motion in Pharmaceutically Important Glasses

Abstract

Increased interest in molecular time scales below the glass transition temperature, Tg, has arisen from the desire to identify the conditions (e.g., temperature) where the molecular processes which lead to unwanted changes in amorphous systems (e.g., chemical reactivity, crystallization, structural collapse) are improbable. The purpose of this study was to characterize the molecular mobility of selected amorphous systems (i.e., indomethacin, sorbitol, sucrose, and trehalose) below Tg using a combined experimental and theoretical approach. Of particular interest was the temperature where the time scales for molecular motion (i.e., relaxation time) exceed expected lifetimes or storage times. As a first approximation of this temperature, the temperature where the thermodynamic properties of the crystal and the equilibrium supercooled liquid converge (i.e., the Kauzmann temperature, TK) was determined. TK values derived from heat capacity and enthalpy of fusion data ranged from 40 to 190 K below the calorimet...