Ability of Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Polyacrylic Acid to Inhibit the Crystallization of Amorphous Acetaminophen

The inhibition of crystallization of amorphous acetaminophen (ACTA) by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) was studied using amorphous solid dispersions prepared by melt quenching. Co‐melting with PVP and PAA decreased the average molecular mobility, as indicated by increases in glass transition temperature and enthalpy relaxation time. The ACTA/PAA dispersion exhibited much slower crystallization than the ACTA/PVP dispersion with a similar glass transition temperature value, indicating that interaction between ACTA and polymers also contributed to the stabilizing effect of these polymers. The carboxyl group of PAA may interact with the hydroxyl group of ACTA more intensely than the carbonyl group of PVP does, resulting in the stronger stabilizing effect of PAA. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy showed that the number of water molecules tightly binding to PVP per monomer unit was larger than that to PAA. Furthermore, a small amount of absorbed water decreased the stabilizing effect of PVP, but not that of PAA. These findings suggest that the stronger stabilizing effect of PAA is due to the stronger interaction with ACTA. The ability of PAA to decrease the molecular mobility of solid dispersion was also larger than that of PVP, as indicated by the longer enthalpy relaxation time. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 93:2710–2717, 2004