An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing

<b>Background:</b> Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) class II drug, that is practically insoluble in water, influencing the oral bioavailability. Polyols are highly hydrophilic crystalline carriers studied for their success in developing solid dispers...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Madan Sai Poka, Marnus Milne, Anita Wessels, Marique Aucamp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Pharmaceutics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/321
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850279876404183040
author Madan Sai Poka
Marnus Milne
Anita Wessels
Marique Aucamp
author_facet Madan Sai Poka
Marnus Milne
Anita Wessels
Marique Aucamp
author_sort Madan Sai Poka
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background:</b> Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) class II drug, that is practically insoluble in water, influencing the oral bioavailability. Polyols are highly hydrophilic crystalline carriers studied for their success in developing solid dispersions (SDs) for improved solubility and dissolution rate. Polyols are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and maltitol (MAL), xylitol (XYL) and sorbitol (SOR) are among the approved polyols for market use. While xylitol (XYL) and sorbitol, have shown promise in improving the solubility and dissolution rates of poorly soluble drugs, their full potential in the context of improving the solubility of carbamazepine have not been thoroughly investigated. To the best of our knowledge, maltitol (MAL) was not studied previously as a carrier for preparing SDs. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate their use in the preparation of CBZ SDs by the fusion method. <b>Methods:</b> CBZ-polyol SDs were prepared in varying molar ratios (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2) and characterised for solid-state nature, solubility and in-vitro dissolution rate. <b>Results:</b> Solid-state characterisation of the CBZ-polyol SDs revealed the existence of the SDs as continuous glass suspensions with fine CBZ crystallites suspended in the amorphous polyol carriers. Among the polyols studied, XYL exhibited good miscibility with CBZ and showed significant improvement in the solubility and dissolution rate. The prepared SDs showed a 2 to 6-folds increase in CBZ solubility and 1.4 to 1.9-folds increase in dissolution rate in comparison with pure CBZ. <b>Conclusions:</b> The study explains the possible use of polyols (XYL and SOR) based SDs of BCS Class II drugs with good glass forming ability for enhanced solubility and dissolution.
format Article
id doaj-art-5045eaa4c4d7441b85bb005d77bd4c3a
institution OA Journals
issn 1999-4923
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Pharmaceutics
spelling doaj-art-5045eaa4c4d7441b85bb005d77bd4c3a2025-08-20T01:48:57ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-03-0117332110.3390/pharmaceutics17030321An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal ProcessingMadan Sai Poka0Marnus Milne1Anita Wessels2Marique Aucamp3Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria 0208, South AfricaDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria 0208, South AfricaCentre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen), North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South AfricaSchool of Pharmacy, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Drive, Bellville, Cape Town 7130, South Africa<b>Background:</b> Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS) class II drug, that is practically insoluble in water, influencing the oral bioavailability. Polyols are highly hydrophilic crystalline carriers studied for their success in developing solid dispersions (SDs) for improved solubility and dissolution rate. Polyols are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and maltitol (MAL), xylitol (XYL) and sorbitol (SOR) are among the approved polyols for market use. While xylitol (XYL) and sorbitol, have shown promise in improving the solubility and dissolution rates of poorly soluble drugs, their full potential in the context of improving the solubility of carbamazepine have not been thoroughly investigated. To the best of our knowledge, maltitol (MAL) was not studied previously as a carrier for preparing SDs. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate their use in the preparation of CBZ SDs by the fusion method. <b>Methods:</b> CBZ-polyol SDs were prepared in varying molar ratios (2:1, 1:1 and 1:2) and characterised for solid-state nature, solubility and in-vitro dissolution rate. <b>Results:</b> Solid-state characterisation of the CBZ-polyol SDs revealed the existence of the SDs as continuous glass suspensions with fine CBZ crystallites suspended in the amorphous polyol carriers. Among the polyols studied, XYL exhibited good miscibility with CBZ and showed significant improvement in the solubility and dissolution rate. The prepared SDs showed a 2 to 6-folds increase in CBZ solubility and 1.4 to 1.9-folds increase in dissolution rate in comparison with pure CBZ. <b>Conclusions:</b> The study explains the possible use of polyols (XYL and SOR) based SDs of BCS Class II drugs with good glass forming ability for enhanced solubility and dissolution.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/321carbamazepinepolyolssolid dispersionspolymorphic formsaqueous solubilitydissolution enhancement
spellingShingle Madan Sai Poka
Marnus Milne
Anita Wessels
Marique Aucamp
An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
Pharmaceutics
carbamazepine
polyols
solid dispersions
polymorphic forms
aqueous solubility
dissolution enhancement
title An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
title_full An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
title_fullStr An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
title_full_unstemmed An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
title_short An Investigation into the Effect of Maltitol, Sorbitol, and Xylitol on the Formation of Carbamazepine Solid Dispersions Through Thermal Processing
title_sort investigation into the effect of maltitol sorbitol and xylitol on the formation of carbamazepine solid dispersions through thermal processing
topic carbamazepine
polyols
solid dispersions
polymorphic forms
aqueous solubility
dissolution enhancement
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/321
work_keys_str_mv AT madansaipoka aninvestigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT marnusmilne aninvestigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT anitawessels aninvestigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT mariqueaucamp aninvestigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT madansaipoka investigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT marnusmilne investigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT anitawessels investigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing
AT mariqueaucamp investigationintotheeffectofmaltitolsorbitolandxylitolontheformationofcarbamazepinesoliddispersionsthroughthermalprocessing