Technical and Formulation Aspects of Pharmaceutical Co-Crystallization: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Crystal engineering provides a unique approach to modulating the physicochemical properties of forming active drug molecules so nowadays pharmaceutical companies and researchers have shown interest in designing and building cocrystals. Creating new crystalline solid structures with altered physicochemical properties such as solubility, bioavailability, tabletability, melting point, stability, and so on. The intermolecular interactions of molecules in the crystal lattice are used to investigate these properties. Numbers of methods for crystallizing the drug are summarised and analyzed, pointing to the advantages and disadvantages that have been highlighted in the literature. This literature review discusses in detail the different types of cocrystals, their mechanisms, methods of cocrystals, applications of cocrystals, and their characterization. The main purpose of this article is to look at what has changed in this field in the last ten years and show what could be learned from better research on cocrystal formation and how it can be used.