Stability of Medicines Flashcards
1
Q
Stability
A
Capacity of a product to remain within specifications to ensure potency, quality or purity
2
Q
Chemical degradation
A
- Decomposition of chemical moiety
- Due to effects of moisture, oxygen, light & heat
- Results in loss of active drug
3
Q
Physical degradation
A
- Formulation-specific
- Caking in suspensions, phase separation in emulsions
- Hardness & brittleness of tablets
4
Q
Microbial degradeation
A
- Microbial contamination
- Metabolism of drug molecule
- Physical spoilage of dosage form
- Infection-causing
5
Q
Drug instability may cause
A
- Inconsistent dosage
- Undesired change in performance dissolution/bioavailability
- Changes in physical appearance of the dosage form
- Product failures
6
Q
Chemical degradation reactions
A
- Hydrolysis
- Oxidation
- Photodegradation
- Polymerisation and dimerisation
7
Q
Hydrolysis
A
- Most common chemical degradation
- Water present in many pharmaceuticals as ingredient or contaminant
- Carboxylic acid derivatives are common in medicines
Esters and amides
8
Q
Imide
A
- N-H
- 2 Carbonyal
9
Q
Urea
A
- 2x NH2
- Carbonyal group
10
Q
Rate of hydrolysis is reduced by
A
- Dry formulations (powder for reconstitution, solid dosage form)
- Adjusting pH to maximum stability in aqueous solution
- Storage temperature
- Coating
- Choice of packaging
11
Q
Hydrolysis reduction
Complexation
A
- Caffeine (a xanthine) complexes with local anesthetics, such as benzocaine and procaine
12
Q
Hydrolysis reduction
Surfacant
A
- Drug molecules become trapped in the micelle
Hydrolytic groups such as OH cannot penetrate the micelle and reach the drug molecules
13
Q
Oxidation
A
- Removal of H, loss of e-, addition of O
- Generally occurs via the action of free radicals
- Highly reactive species possessing one or more unpaired electrons
- Generated by the action of light energy (UV), heat or trace metals such as Fe2+ or Cu+
14
Q
Auto-oxidation
A
- Uncatalysed and proceeds slowly under the influence of molecular oxygen
- Reaction of free radicals with drugs or biomolecules leads to the formation of peroxyl radicals, which initiate and propagate auto-oxidation
- Initiation, Propogation and Termination
15
Q
Prevent auto-oxidation
Remove initiators
A
Chelation of trace metals with chelating agents: ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), citric acid & tartaric acid