Effects of Surfactants on Itraconazole-Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Acetate Succinate Solid Dispersion Prepared by Hot Melt Extrusion III: Tableting of Extrudates and Drug Release From Tablets.

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) has gained popularity as a carrier for amorphous solid dispersion because of its ability to maintain drugs in supersaturated state after dissolution in aqueous media. In part I and II of this series of articles, we have demonstrated that amorphous solid dispersions containing HPMCAS may be prepared using surfactants as plasticizers to reduce processing temperature (Solanki et al., J Pharm Sci. 2019; 108:1453-65), where surfactants also increase dissolution rate and degree of supersaturation (Solanki et al., J Pharm Sci. 2019; 108: 3063-73). The present investigation was undertaken to develop melt extrudates of itraconazole-HPMCAS and itraconazole-surfactant-HPMCAS mixtures into tablets having tensile strength ≥2 MPa, where poloxamer 407 and d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate were used as surfactants. Milled filaments were sieved to collect <212-μm particles, which were then compressed into tablets with different excipients (silicified microcrystalline cellulose [MCC], Avicel PH-102, dicalcium phosphate, lactose, and Starch 1500). Initial screening of various diluents showed that only silicified MCC and Avicel PH-102 could provide the target tensile strength of ≥2 MPa. Tabletability (tensile strength vs. compaction pressure), compressibility (porosity vs. compaction pressure), and compactibility (tensile strength vs. porosity) were then studied for tablet formulations. The desired tensile strength could be obtained at the diluent level of 50%-70%, where silicified MCC provided better hardness than Avicel PH-102. Tablets disintegrated in <2 min, and drug release from tablets was comparable to that of milled filaments.