Formulation Approaches to Combat Moisture Effects on Drug and Nutraceutical Formulations

Dear Colleagues,

The introduction of new drug forms such as pharmaceutical salts, co-crystals, and amorphous and co-amorphous systems, aiming to improve solubility, permeability, and targeting effectiveness, has raised concerns about their survival under environmental conditions due to the interference of the environmental moisture in the formation and strength of hydrogen bonds and ionic forces that hold these forms together. Furthermore, there is a large bank of drug molecules that can be dramatically influenced by the environmental moisture due to their deliquescent tendency, polymorphic and solvate conversion, and mechanical deterioration (de-mixing of powders, packing, flowability)—all of which affect therapeutic efficacy, and therefore necessitate the use of new approaches during formulation work that not only ensure functionality but also offer protection of the bioactive compounds in the long-term. The problem is not limited to drug molecules, but extends to the carriers used in drug formulations due to the influence of moisture on their properties, mainly by alteration of their glass transition, and hence matrix structure. The above considerations apply no less to nutraceuticals and food products that contain essential oils, due to the volatile nature and to the chemical instability of the ingredients, thus necessitating encapsulation or dispersion into suitable matrices able to resist the penetration of environmental moisture and loss of effectiveness.

In this Special Issue, contributions of research work and reviews are invited that report cases where moisture-sensitive drugs and nutraceuticals have been formulated using new approaches and technological advancements by the application of modern and established processes such as spray-drying, hot melt granulation and extrusion, electrospinning and electrospraying systems, dry granulation, direct compression, and coating in conjunction with modified or novel non-toxic excipients. The application of mathematical models to describe the kinetics of moisture uptake, moisture distribution and its effect on molecular structure by the application of analytical methods, quantitative estimation of the effectiveness of the applied processes and formulations, and predictive models for stability are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Ioannis Nikolakakis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Scientia Pharmaceutica is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• tablets
• capsules
• pellets
• powders
• oral
• pulmonary
• hygroscopicity
• polymorphism
• crystallinity
• flowability
• packing
• release
• bioavailability