Study of equilibrium solution and thermodynamic models in correlation with solubility data of rivastigmine tartrate in (H2O + isopropanol), (H2O + ethanol), and (H2O + acetonitrile) binary solvent mixtures

Abstract

Millions of people around the world have been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) everyday. Rivastigmine tartrate is a potential AD drug. A crystallization process can enhance purities of rivastigmine tartrate properly. Predictive models for solubilities of rivastigmine tartrate will improve subsequent industrial crystallization process design. In this work, the solubility of rivastigmine tartrate in (H2O + isopropanol), (H2O + ethanol), and (H2O + acetonitrile) binary solvent systems in the temperature range of 278.15–333.15 K under atmospheric pressure was measured and investigated by employing the analytical stirred-flask method. Binary solvent systems of rivastigmine tartrate overcame drawbacks of mono-solvent crystallization systems, such as high viscosity. Three thermodynamic models, including modified Apelblat equation, the general cosolvency model, and the Jouyban–Acree model, were employed to correlate with the obtained experimental solubility data. Moreover, the calculations of apparent thermodynamic properties of rivastigmine tartrate dissolution process involving the Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and entropy were accomplished by using the van’t Hoff analysis. Among the three models, the modified Apelblat equation is the most suitable one for predicting the solubility behavior of rivastigmine tartrate in binary solvent systems. Based on the data from modified Apelblat equation, a crystallization process of (H2O + ethanol) binary solvent mixture was developed.