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Review
. 2020 Jan 1;12(1):34.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12010034.

The Polymorphism of Drugs: New Approaches to the Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymorphs

Dmitry Chistyakov  1 , Gleb Sergeev  2
Affiliations
Review

The Polymorphism of Drugs: New Approaches to the Synthesis of Nanostructured Polymorphs

Dmitry Chistyakov et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Among the significant problems of modern pharmacology are the low solubility and bioavailability of drugs. One way to resolve this problem is to obtain new polymorphic forms of drugs with improved physicochemical properties. Various approaches have been developed with this aim, including the preparation of co-crystals, the use of nanoparticles, or the use of compounds in the form of a salt. A promising direction in pharmacology concerns the production of new stable polymorphic structures. In this mini-review, we consider certain aspects of drug polymorphism, methods for the synthesis of polymorphs, and the stability, size, and transformation of crystalline polymorphs. Moreover, we summarize our results from several studies demonstrating the problems associated with the synthesis of new polymorphous modifications based on inert gases and cryotemperatures. The results indicate that the problems specific to drug polymorphisms have only been partly resolved, are of current interest, and require further development.

Keywords: cryosynthesis; cryotemperature; nanoparticles; polymorphism; poorly soluble drug.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nanostructure synthesis block-scheme (adapted from [44]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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