Chemical Engineering Seminar Series : Prof. Jose V Parambil.

Developing Solution Crystallization for Cocrystal Production.

Cocrystals open up new avenues for modifying the physicochemical properties of pharmaceutical solid forms to cater to specific needs such as an increase in bioavailability, tabletability, or stability. Solution cocrystallization techniques offer scalable processes that can utilize conventional crystallization machinery and process analytical technologies in the pharmaceutical sector. However, the presence of multiple components and competing kinetics make the cocrystallization process harder than conventional single component crystallization to both understand and control. Thus, novel cocrystals create an additional set of challenges to the conventional crystallization scale-up. The complexity of real-time monitoring and control of crystallization increases with the number of chemical components and solid forms in the process. The thermodynamic and kinetic relationships of different solid forms with dissimilar driving forces are to be studied in depth to develop a quality-by-design approach for industrial cocrystallization. This talk covers the challenges faced in the scale-up of solution cocrystallization and the design pathway for the development of a scalable cocrystallization process.