Introduction to Pharmaceutical Co-amorphous Systems Using a Green Co-milling Technique

The concept of co-amorphous systems is introduced in
an integrated
laboratory experiment, designed for advanced chemistry students, using
solvent-free, environmentally friendly mechanochemistry. The dual-drug
naproxen-cimetidine co-amorphous system (NPX-CIM) is investigated
as an example of the emergent field of medicinal mechanochemistry.
Students are trained in solid-state characterization techniques including
X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,
and thermal analysis by differential scanning calorimetry. This lab
experiment also provides an opportunity to discuss the relevance of
different solid forms of pharmaceutics, emphasizing particular properties
of disordered materials. This experiment can easily fit the curriculum
of any Chemistry or Pharmacy master level degree in courses dealing
with instrumental analysis, solid state chemistry, or green chemistry,
for classes of 6 to 18 students, in a 5-h lab session. Suggestions
to adapt it to the use of a single characterization technique are
provided.