Cocrystal: A Review on the Design and Preparation of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals

Abstract

The majority of the active pharmaceutical components have issues with poor solubility, bioavailability, chemical stability, and moisture absorption. Pharmaceutical crystals are a reliable way to change the aforementioned physicochemical properties of drugs without changing their pharmacological behaviour. However, the success of these approaches depends on the physical and chemical properties of the molecules being developed. The development of drug products with superior physicochemical characteristics, such as melting point, tablet ability, solubility, stability, bioavailability, and permeability, while preserving the pharmacological properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredient is greatly facilitated by co-crystallization of drug substances. All the components of a cocrystal, which is a stoichiometric homogeneous multicomponent system connected by non-covalent interactions, are solid under ambient conditions.