Abstract
We found a quasi-incompressible and liquid mixture of ibuprofen, water and acetone, that enables the crystallization of ibuprofen particles by decreasing the pressure from 15MPa to ambient pressure (~0.1MPa). We measured the solubility of ibuprofen in the mixture as a function of the acetone/water-ratio for pressures of 0.1MPa, 5.5MPa and 15MPa and at 308K using the cloud point method. Based on the solubilities, binodal compositions of the ternary system were modelled using the NRTL-SAC model. The solubility of the drug in the mixture increases with increasing pressure at constant acetone/water-ratio. This pressure sensitive solubility can be exploited for the crystallization of ibuprofen particles via a pressure-drop approach. A pressure-drop from 15MPa to ambient pressure ~0.1MPa can result in a supersaturation of up to 1.43.
Highlights
Introduction and state of the artThe crystallization or precipitation of particles from liquid solution is one essential operation in chemical engineering processes with huge relevance for separation and purification processes in the industries of nutrition [1,2], pharmacy [3] and electronics ((semi)-conducting nanoparticles) [4,5,6].Crystallization or precipitation of particles can be initiated by (i) changing the temperature of the solution [7], such as in the case of heating or cooling crystallization [8,9], (ii) changing the composition ofM
This implies that the pressure variation has a huge influence on the specific volume, which is known to be inversely proportional to the solvation power [27]
When water is added to the mixture, the molar fraction of ibuprofen xIBU decreases in the mixture while xWater increases, until after the addition of an infinite amount of water the entire mixture is quasi pure water
Summary
The crystallization or precipitation of particles from liquid solution is one essential operation in chemical engineering processes with huge relevance for separation and purification processes in the industries of nutrition (sugar or salt) [1,2], pharmacy (drugs) [3] and electronics ((semi)-conducting nanoparticles) [4,5,6]. This HPVVVC is equipped with four quartz glass windows that allow the visual observation of the system and a double-wall heating or cooling jacket which allows temperature conditioning of the ternary mixture inside. A pressure sensor type PAA 3XXX from Keller with a precision of 0.01MPa (according to manufacturer specification) indicates the pressure
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