Impact of downstream processing on crystal quality during the precipitation of a pharmaceutical product

In pharmaceutical industries, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) are made of crystals whose properties must be controlled because they influence the end-use properties of the drug. Even if crystal quality is mainly determined during the precipitation step, downstream processing also has an influence. In this study, the influence of washing on the crystal size and shape was analyzed. For the API being considered, different impurities have to be removed from the final suspension by filter cake washing. The efficiency of the washing steps was measured by different types of characterization on the solid phase (differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and size distribution) and on the remaining filtrate (concentration of impurities). A second component also coprecipitates with the API. A specific study has been carried out on the withdrawal of this by-product and on its impact on the evolution of the crystalline form during washing steps. It was found that three filter cake washings allow us to remove all the impurities and to obtain a pure crystalline form

Influence of pH, Temperature and Impurities on the Solubility of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)

Solubility, which defines the liquid /solid equilibrium, is a key parameter to control a crystallization process. This work is focused on the effects of pH, temperature and impurities on the aqueous solubility of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API).As the API is a weak acid (pKa = 3.7), its solubility increases with the pH. On the basis of the experimental curve of solubility, a model was defined to fit the evolution of the solubility as a function of pH. In the case of this compound, studies revealed a weak influence of the temperature in comparison with the pH. So, the solubility of the compound is slightly impacted by the temperature.Some experiments were carried out in order to compare the solubility of the API, at the same pH and temperature, for different concentrations of impurities found in the process. The results revealed a solubility increase in presence of acetic acid and a high solubility decrease in presence of sodium chloride. By carrying out experiments on common ions salts, the anion chloride Cl- has been identified as the cause of the solubility decrease

Characterization of the conglomerate form of acetyl-dl-leucine by thermal analysis and solubility measurements

Starting from a mixture of enantiomers in solution, crystallization can generate different types of crystals. In order to determine which type of crystal is obtained in the case of acetylleucine, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), analytical methods have been used to partially elucidate the binary and ternary phase diagrams of the system composed of the two enantiomers and water.The melting temperature phase diagram of this compound has been obtained by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyzes. The results show that it is characteristic of a conglomerate. This mode of crystallization has also been confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Solubility measurements of enantiomerical mixtures in water enabled the determination of the ternary diagram of solubility. The empiric Meyerhoffer double solubility rule has been modified, due to the characterization of interactions between enantiomers

Heart Rate Variability in Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Characteristics and Prognostic Value

AbstractObjectives. This study was designed to evaluate heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), to determine its correlation with hemodynamic variables and ventricular arrhythmias and to evaluate its prognostic value in IDC.Background. Previous studies have shown that HRV could predict arrhythmic events in patients after infarction, but the characteristics of HRV in IDC have not been fully established.Methods. Time domain analysis of HRV on 24-h electrocardiographic (ECG) recording was performed in 93 patients with IDC, and results were compared with those in 63 control subjects.Results. Patients with IDC, even those without congestive heart failure, had significantly lower values for HRV than those of control subjects. HRV was related to left ventricular shortening fraction (R = 0.5, p = 0.0001) and to peak oxygen uptake (R = 0.53, p = 0.01). HRV was not different in patients with runs of ventricular tachycardia or in patients with late potentials on the signal-averaged ECG. During a mean follow-up period (±SD) of 49.5 ± 35.6 months, patients with reduced HRV had an increased risk of cardiac death or heart transplantation (p = 0.006). On multivariate analysis, cardiac events were predicted by increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (p = 0.0001), reduced standard deviation of all normal to normal RR intervals (p = 0.02) and increased pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (p = 0.04).Conclusions. Decreased HRV in patients with IDC is related to left ventricular dysfunction and not to ventricular arrhythmias. Analysis of HRV can identify patients with IDC who have an increased risk of cardiac death or heart transplantation

Transposition to continuous and process intensification of a pharmaceutical production.

Transposition to continuous and process intensification of a pharmaceutical production

Modeling pH-zone refining countercurrent chromatography: A dynamic approach

International audienc

Development of a Taqman RT-PCR assay for the detection and quantification of negatively stranded RNA of human enteroviruses: Evidence for false-priming and improvement by tagged RT-PCR.

International audienceHuman enteroviruses are among the most common viruses infecting humans. These viruses are known to be able to infect a wide range of tissues and are believed to establish persistent infections. Enteroviruses are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses whose replication involves the synthesis of negative strand intermediates. Therefore, the specific detection of negatively stranded viral RNA in tissues or cells is a reliable marker of active enteroviral replication. The present report presents the development of a real-time RT-PCR allowing the specific detection and quantification of negatively stranded viral RNA. Since it was known that specific amplification of single-stranded RNA can be made difficult by false-priming events leading to false-positive or overestimated results, the assay was developed by using a tagged RT primer. This tagged RT-PCR was shown to be able to amplify specifically negative RNA of enteroviruses grown in cell cultures by preventing the amplification of cDNAs generated by false-priming

Industrial case study on alkaloids purification by pH-zone refining centrifugal partition chromatography

International audienceThe industrial potential of pH-zone refining centrifugal partition chromatography has been evaluated by studying the purification of pharmaceutical ingredients at the pilot scale. For the first time, a scale up methodology based on both column capacity and mass transfer efficiency as invariants was developed. The purification of catharanthine and vindoline from an industrial crude extract of aerial parts of Catharanthus roseus, was used as a case of study. Toluene/CH3CN/water (4/1/5, v/v/v) was selected as biphasic solvent system, triethylamine as retainer in the organic stationary phase and sulphuric acid as displacer in the aqueous mobile phase. The separation intensification was performed on a 36 mL CPC column equipped with 832 partition twin-cells. The combined effects of four parameters (displacer and retainer concentrations for intensive parameters, flow rate and rotational speed for extensive parameters) were studied by design of experiment in order to maximize both recoveries and productivities. Then, scale change was done on two larger columns (305 mL and 1950 mL of capacity) equipped with only 231 and 238 partition cells. For this step, it has been shown that the global mass transfer coefficient k0a (the efficiency of a column design) and the stationary phase retention (the capacity of the column) were relevant and useful scale up invariants.A CPC model based on acid-base equilibriums and interfacial mass transfer in continuously stirred tank reactors in series was used to predict fully separations on larger CPC column at the optimized operating conditions and to guide the CPC user in its scale-up strategy. The experimental validation on pilot CPC column, by injecting up to 150 g of Catharanthus roseus crude extract on the 1950 mL column highlighted the preservation of the separation quality, the non-linear character of the scale up in centrifugal partition chromatography and that a productivity of about 4 kg of processed crude extract per day can be reached by implementing developed methodology