Microstructural Characterization and Dissolution Behavior of Drug/Semicrystalline Polymer Systems

Time-resolved simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy has been employed to study the crystallization kinetics and structural evolution of drug/polymer systems. It was found that the drug formed larger crystallites at higher crystallization temperatures, and the overall crystallization kinetics seems slower. The dissolution study showed that the samples crystallized at higher temperatures shows much slower dissolution rate with different dissolution mechanism, compared to that prepared at lower temperatures, which is consistent with the SHG microscopy results.