Abstract
Thermal conductivity is a material specific property, which influences many aspects of pharmaceutical development, such as processing, modelling, analysis, and the development of novel formulation approaches. We have presented a method to measure thermal conductivity of small molecule organic glasses, based on a vacuum molding sample preparation technique combined with modulated differential scanning calorimetry. The method is applied to the two amorphous model compounds indomethacin and celecoxib. The measured values of below 0.2 W/m °C indicate very low thermal conductivity of the amorphous compounds, within the range of organic liquids and low conducting polymers.
Highlights
The ability of a specific sample to conduct heat, measured as the material’s thermal conductivity k, is an important parameter for many applications and theoretical considerations
We have presented a method to measure thermal conductivity of small molecule organic glasses, based on a vacuum molding sample preparation technique combined with modulated differential scanning calorimetry
As can be seen by the PS and PMMA samples, the method produced thermal conductivity values, which were in agreement with literature, within the precision limits reported earlier [9]
Summary
The ability of a specific sample to conduct heat, measured as the material’s thermal conductivity k, is an important parameter for many applications and theoretical considerations. Whilst the determination of thermal conductivity of large molecule samples, such as polymers, is a long-established procedure in many fields of material sciences [1], there is a considerable literature gap for small molecule organic glasses, especially active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Determining thermal conductivity is becoming more interesting and a necessity in several methods related to the research and development of amorphous API. For example, can induce a mechanically activated disordering of the crystalline API and thermal conductivity strongly influences the temperature increase needed for complete amorphisation [4]. Developing novel formulation approaches such as in situ amorphisation—For example, the conversion of a drug to its amorphous form prior to administration to the patient with the help of microwave heating [5]—Would benefit from having established thermal conductivity values
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