1 COCRYSTAL SCREENING USING SUPERCRITICAL FLUID-ASSISTED PROCESSES

Supercritical fluid technology has been used together with crystal engineering approaches to produce cocrystals of different APIs. Indomethacin, theophylline, caffeine and sulfamethazine cocrystals, using the FDA-approved sweetener saccharin (SAC) as a cocrystal former, were generated from ethanol solutions by the Atomization and Anti-solvent (AAS) technique. In this process, supercritical CO2 was used as a screening media. The cocrystals morphologies were analysed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and the potential cocrystalline phase was characterized by DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and PXRD (Powder X-Ray Diffraction). The results of this work show the feasibility of the AAS technique to generate pharmaceutical cocrystals in a micro- and nanosized range