Miscibility of Itraconazole-Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Blends: Insights with High Resolution Analytical Methodologies.

Drug-polymer miscibility is considered to be a prerequisite to achieve an optimally performing amorphous solid dispersion (ASD). Unfortunately, it can be challenging to evaluate drug-polymer miscibility experimentally. The aim of this study was to investigate the miscibility of ASDs of itraconazole (ITZ) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) using a variety of analytical approaches. The phase behavior of ITZ-HPMC films prepared by solvent evaporation was studied before and after heating. Conventional methodology for miscibility determination, that is, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), was used in conjunction with emerging analytical techniques, such as fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence imaging, and atomic force microscopy coupled with nanoscale infrared spectroscopy and nanothermal analysis (AFM-nanoIR-nanoTA). DSC results showed a single glass transition event for systems with 10% to 50% drug loading, suggesting that the ASDs were miscible, whereas phase separation was observed for all of the films based on the other techniques. The AFM-coupled techniques indicated that the phase separation occurred at the submicron scale. When the films were heated, it was observed that the ASD components underwent mixing. The results provide new insights into the phase behavior of itraconazole-HPMC dispersions and suggest that the emerging analytical techniques discussed herein are promising for the characterization of miscibility and microstructure in drug-polymer systems. The observed differences in the phase behavior in films prepared by solvent evaporation before and after heating also have implications for processing routes and suggest that spray drying/solvent evaporation and hot melt extrusion/melt mixing can result in ASDs with varying extent of miscibility between the drug and the polymer.