Detection of low levels of the amorphous phase in crystalline pharmaceutical materials by thermally stimulated current spectrometry.

Abstract

To demonstrate the applicability of thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectrometry for the detection of low levels of the amorphous phase in crystalline pharmaceutical materials. A crystalline drug substance was melt quenched to produce an amorphous material. Blends of the crystalline and amorphous phases in different ratios (from 75:25 to 99:01) were prepared by serial dilution. TSC studies were performed by applying an electric field at a temperature above the glass transition temperature (Tg) to orient the dipoles, rapidly cooling to 0 degrees C, short circuiting for 1 min, and scanning at 7 degrees C/min to measure the depolarization current. The temperature of the peak in the spectrum corresponds to the Tg of the amorphous phase. Modulated differential scanning calorimtery (DSC) studies were performed using three different test protocols (varying linear heating rate, modulation amplitude, and time period). Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were performed using a Siemens D500 diffractometer. The ability to detect the amorphous phase by powder XRD is beset with problems due to indirect inference, orientation effects, and instrument-related intensity variations. Even using a consistent sampling procedure and an internal standard, the XRD could quantify the amorphous phase at a level of 5%. In the conventional or modulated DSC, the amorphous phase manifests itself as a shift in the baseline. Using modulated DSC it was possible to detect the amorphous phase at a level of 5% when tested at a heating rate of 2 degrees C/min and an amplitude of +/-1.0 degrees C with a period of 30 s. The moisture sorption method appears to have a similar detection capability. In TSC scans, the glass transition event due to molecular/segmental mobility in the amorphous phase was manifested as a peak/shoulder on the low-temperature side of the depolarization peak of the crystalline phase. The amorphous phase was unambiguously detected at 2% with a lower detection limit of approximately 1%. On the basis of the results of this preliminary investigation, TSC appears to be capable of detecting the amorphous phase at as low as approximately 1% in crystalline pharmaceuticals, thus offering a much needed capability in discerning factors.