6.

Kinetics and drug stability

6.1. Introduction
 Kinetics is the study of the rate at which processes occur. The changes may be chemical
(decomposition of a drug, radiochemical decay) or physical (transfer across a boundary,
such as the intestinal lining or skin).
 It is defined as how drug changes with time i.e., study of rate of change
 Kinetic studies are useful in providing information that:
 Gives an insight into the mechanisms of the changes involved, and
 Allows a prediction of the degree of change that will occur after a given time has
elapsed
o That is it predict the time span for which a drug (pure or formulation) will
maintain its therapeutic effectiveness or efficacy at a specified temperature
 In general, the theories and laws of chemical kinetics are well founded and provide a
sound basis for the application of such studies to pharmaceutical problems that involve
chemical reactions, e.g. the decomposition of medical compounds.
 Stability is defined as the study of the extent to which the properties of a drug substance
or drug product remain within specified limits at certain temperature
 The purpose of stability testing is to provide evidence on how the quality of a drug
substance or drug product varies with time under the influence of a variety of
environmental factors, such as temperature. humidity, and light, and to establish a shelf
life for the drug product and recommended storage conditions
 Importance of stability
 Extensive chemical degradation result in a substantial loss of potency
 Degradation products may result in adverse events or be unsafe
 Instability may cause
o Undesired change in performance, i.e. dissolution/bioavailability
o Substantial changes in physical appearance of the dosage form causing
product failures

1
6.2. Rates and orders of a reaction

 The rate, velocity, or speed of a reaction is given by the expression dc/dt where dc is the
increase or decrease of concentration over an infinitesimal time interval dt.
 According to the law of mass action, the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the
product of the molar concentration of the reactants each raised to a power usually equal
to the number of molecules, a and b, of the substances A and B. respectively, undergoing
reaction. In the reaction
aA +bB +.. → Products
The rate of the reaction is

= 1 d[A]
a dt
= 1 d[B]
b dt
= k[A]a[B]b where K is the rate constant

 The overall order of a reaction is the sum of the exponents (a + b) of the concentration
term A and B.
 The order with respect to one of the reactor, A or B, is the exponent of a or b of
that particular concentration term. Example, the reaction of ethyl acetate with
sodium hydroxide
NaOH + CH3COOC2H5 → CH3COONa + C2H5OH
The rate expression will be
Rate = - d[NaOH] = - d[CH3COOC2H5] = k[NaOH]1 [CH3COOC2H5]1
dt dt
 The reaction is first order (a = 1) with respect to ethyl acetate and first order (b =
1) with respect to sodium hydroxide solution; overall the reaction is second order
(a + b = 2).
 Apparent’ or pseudo-order describes a situation where one of the reactants is present in
large excess or does not affect the overall reaction and can be held constant.
 For example, many hydrolysis decomposition reactions of drug molecules are
second order. Usually the amount of water present is in excess of what is needed

2
 for the reaction to proceed. In other words, the concentration of water is
essentially constant throughout the reaction.
 In this case, the second-order reaction behaves like a first-order reaction
and is called an apparent or pseudo—first order reaction.
 Suppose that in the reaction between NaOH and CH 3COOC2H5 reaction, sodium
hydroxide as well as water was in great excess and ethyl acetate was in a
relatively low concentration.
 As the reaction proceeded, ethyl acetate would change appreciably from its
original concentration. Whereas the concentrations of NaOH and water would
remain essentially unchanged because they are present in a great excess. In this
case, the contribution of sodium hydroxide to the rate expression is considered
constant and the reaction rate can be written as
Rate = - d[CH3COOC2H5 = k’[CH3COOC2H5]1
dt
 Where k’ = k[NaOH]. The reaction is then said to be pseudo-first-order
reaction because it depends only on the first power (a = 1) of the
concentration of ethyl acetate.
Molecularity
 A reaction whose overall order is measured can be considered to occur through several
steps or elementary reactions. Each of the elementary reactions has a stoichiometrv
giving the number of molecules taking part in that step.
 Order and molecularity are ordinarily identical only for elementary reactions
 Because the order of an elementary reaction gives the number of molecules
coming together to react in the step, it is common to refer to this order as the
molecularity of the elementary reaction
 If on the other hand, a reaction proceeds through several stages the term molecularity is
not used in reference to the observed rate law:
 In this case, one step may involve two molecules, a second step only one
molecule, and subsequent step one or two molecules. Hence, bimolecular
reactions may or may not be second order.

3
  Molecularity is the number of molecules, atoms, or ions reacting in an elementary
process.
 In the reaction
Br2 → 2Br
 The process is unimolecular because the single molecule Br2 decomposes to
form two bromine atoms.
 In the single-step reaction
H2 + I2 → 2HI
 The process is bimolecular because two molecules, one of H 2 and one of I2
must come together to form the product 2HI.
 A Termolecular reaction that is processes in which three molecules must
come together simultaneously, are rare.
 Chemical reactions that proceed through more than one step are known as complex
reactions. The overall order determined kinetically may not be identical with the
molecularity because the reaction consists of several steps each with its own
molecularity.
 For the overall reaction
2N0+02 → 2N02
 The order has been found experimentally to be 2. The reaction is not
termolecular, in which two molecules of NO would collide simultaneously
with one molecule of 02. Instead, the mechanism is postulated to consist of
two elementary steps, each being bimolecular:
2NO → N2O2
N2O2 + O2 → 2NO2
Specific Rate Constant
 The constant, k, appearing in the rate law associated with a single-step (elementary)
reaction is called the specific rate constant for that reaction.
 Any change in the conditions of the reaction, for example, in temperature or
solvent, or a slight change in one of the reacting species, will lead to a rate law
having a different value for the specific rate constant.

4
  Variations in the specific rate constant are of great physical significance because a
change in this constant necessarily represents a change at the molecular level as a
result of a variation in the reaction conditions.
 Rate constants derived from reactions consisting of a number of steps of different
molecularity are functions of the specific rate constants for the various steps.
 Any change in the nature of a step due to a modification in the reaction
conditions or the properties of the molecules taking part in this step could lead to
a change in the value of the overall rate constant
 At times, variations in an overall rate constant can be used to provide useful
information about a reaction, but quite commonly, anything that affects one
specific rate constant will affect another; hence, it is quite difficult to attach
significance to variations in the overall rate constant for these reactions.
Zero order reaction
 In a zero-order reaction the rate of reaction (decomposition, dissolution, drug release) is
independent of the concentration of the reactants, i.e. the rate is constant.
- dA = K0
dt
 A constant rate of drug release from a dosage form is highly desirable. Zero-order
kinetics often apply to processes occurring at phase boundaries, where the concentration
at the surface remains constant either because reaction sites are saturated (enzyme
kinetics, drug receptor interaction) or are constantly replenished by diffusion of fresh
material from within the bulk of one phase.
 This diffusion criterion applies to the hydrolysis of drugs in suspensions or
delivery from controlled-release dosage forms such as transdermal patches.
 The rate equation can be integrated between the initial concentration, C 0, corresponding
to the original concentration of the drug at t=0 and Ct, the concentration at time t

Ct- C0 = -K0t
Ct = C0 - K0t

5
  When this linear equation is plotted with concentration on the vertical axis and time on
the horizontal axis, the slope of the line equals –K0
Unit of K for zero order
K = - dc/dt = moles/liter = mole = mole liter-1 second-1
second liter second
Half-life (t1/2) for zero order
 This is the time taken for the concentration (of, say, a drug in solution) to reduce by a half
(that is Ct = ½C0. Rearrangement of the integrated equations for t

t1/2= - Ct-C0 = - (1/2C0 – C0)

K0 K0
t1/2 = C0
2K0
Determination of t0.9

 Shelf life (t0.9) is defined as the time necessary for the drug to decay to 90% of its original
concentration.
 At t= t0.9 , C = 0.9 Co and substitute in equation;

C = Co –k t

t90% = t0.9 = 0.1 Co / k

First order reaction

 The rate in the case of first order is determined by one concentration term.
 These are by far the most important processes in pharmaceutical science. Many drug
decompositions on storage and the passage of drugs from one body compartment to
another, e.g. lumen of the intestine into blood, follow first-order kinetics.
 The rate of reaction is most simply defined as the concentration change divided by the
corresponding time change:
dc = - kc
dt
 The negative sign is used because concentration falls as time increases. This
makes the rate constant, k, positive.

6
 The differential equation above describes infinitely small changes. For real changes these
small changes are summed (integrated), usually from the start of the process (time = 0,
concentration = C0) to the concentration, c, remaining at any other time, t.

lnC0 - lnC = -K(0 - t)

ln C = ln C0 – Kt
log C = log C0 - Kt
2.303
 Thus a plot of ln c against t is a straight line with intercept C0 and gradient -k.
 In a first order reaction, the concentration decreases exponentially with time. The
concentration begins at C0 and decreases as the reaction becomes progressively slower.
 The concentration asymptotically approaches a final value C∞ as time proceeds
toward infinity.

Fig.1. A fall in concentration of a drug with time

Fig.2. A linear plot of log C vs. Time for first order

7
Unit of K for first order
k= dc = moles/liter = second-1
c dt moles/liter second
Half life for first order
 At time = t1/2 , the concentration (C) will be half of the original concentration (C 0). So the
equation becomes
ln (1/2C0) = ln C0 - Kt1/2

t1/2 = ln Co
1/2Co

K
t1/2 = ln 2 = 0.693
K K
 The half-life is quite satisfactory for expressing reaction rates rather than the time

required for a substance to decompose completely.

 Except in a zero-order reaction, theoretically it takes an infinite period of time for

a process to subside completely. Hence, a statement of the time required for
complete disintegration would have no meaning.
 Actually, the rate ordinarily subsides in a finite period of time to a point at which
the reaction may be considered to be complete, but this time is not accurately
known.
Determination of t0.9
 At t = t0.9 c = 0.9 co

Substitute in ln c = ln co – Kt

t0.9 = 0.105 / K

Second order reactions

 Rate depends on the product of two concentration terms. In the simplest case they refer to
the same species. For example:
2HI → H2 + I2
 Here the reaction is not simply a matter of an HI molecule falling apart, but relies on the
collision of two HI molecules.

8
  The rate of reaction from the law of mass action is given by:
Rate = k[HI] [HI] = k[HI]2
dc = -kC2
dt

( dc) =
C2
1 = 1
+ kt
C C0
 If the reaction is between two different species, A and B, it is unlikely that their starting
concentrations will be equal.
 Let their initial concentrations be a0 and b0 (where a0 > b0), falling to a and b at
time t. As equal numbers of molecules of A and B are lost in the decomposition,
the rate can be defined as da/dt (or db/dt).Thus:
da/dt = - kab
ln(a/b) = In(a0/b0 ) + k(a 0 – b0}t
 Thus a plot of ln(a/b) against t is a straight line with gradient k(a0 – b0)
Half life of a second order
 At t = t1/2, C=1/2C0, so the equation for half life will be
1 = 1
+ kt1/2
1/2C0 C0
2 = 1
+ kt1/2
C0 C0
t1/2 = 1
C0k
 Shelf life:- t0.9 = 0.11 / KCo
 Unit of K
k= dc = mole/liter = liter/mole second
dt. C2 second. (mole/liter)2

Determination of Order
 The order of a reaction can be determined by several methods.

9
 1. Substitution Method
 The data accumulated in a kinetic study can be substituted in the integrated form of the
equations that describe the various orders.
 When the equation is found in which the calculated k values remain constant within
the limits of experimental variation, the reaction is considered to be of that order.
2. Graphic Method.
 A plot of the data in the form of a graph can also be used to ascertain the order.
 If a straight line results when concentration is plotted against t, the reaction is zero
order.
 The reaction is first order if log concentration versus time; yields a straight line, and
 It is second order if 1/C versus t gives a straight line (in the case in which the initial
concentrations are equal)
3. Half-Life Method.
 In a zero-order reaction, the half-life is proportional to the initial concentration.
 The half-life of a first-order reaction is independent of concentration
 The half life for a second-order reaction is proportional to 1/C
 The relationship between these results shows that, in general, the half-life of a
reaction in which the concentrations of all reactants are identical is

Where n is the order of the reaction

Complex Reactions
 Many reactions cannot be expressed by simple zero, first, and second, or third-order
equations. They involve more than one-step or elementary reactions and accordingly are
known as complex reactions.
 These processes include reversible, parallel, and consecutive reactions.
a. Reversible reaction:

b. Parallel or side reactions:

10
c. Series or consecutive reactions:

a. Reversible Reactions
 The simplest reversible reaction is one in which both the forward and the reverse
steps are first-order processes:

 Although at first this equation appears to be that for equilibrium between A and B, it
must be pointed out that an equilibriurn situation requires that the concentrations of
A and B do not change with time. Because this expression is intended to explain a
kinetic process, it must follow that the equation describes the approach to
equilibrium.
 That is, the situation represented is one in which A decreases to form B and some
of the product B converts back to A. According to this description, the net rate at
which A decreases will be given by the rate at which A decreases in the forward
step less the rate at which A increases in the reverse step

 This rate law can be integrated by noting that

 Substitution of this into the equation and integrating

11
  The tetracycline and certain of their derivatives undergo a reversible isomerization at
a PH in the range of 2 to 6
 This isomerization has been shown to be epimerization, resulting in
epitetracycline, which shows much less therapeutic activity than the natural form
b. Parallel or Side Reactions.
 Parallel reactions are common in drug systems, particularly when organic
compounds are involved.
 General acid—base catalysis belongs to this class of reactions.
 The base-catalyzed degradation of prednisolone to give an acidic (A) and neutral
(N) product is an example of the parallel-type process.
k1 k2
A P→N
 The rate equation for predinisolone (P) will become

c. Series or Consecutive Reactions.

 Consecutive reactions are common in radioactive series in which a parent isotope
decays by a first-order process into a daughter isotope and so on through a chain of
disintegrations.
 Degradation scheme of glucose as illustrative of consecutive-type reactions.
The depletion of glucose in acid solution can be represented by the following
scheme

K1 K2
Glucose (A) → 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (B) → final product (C)
 The rate of decomposition of glucose is given by

12
  The rate of change of 5-HMF is given by

 For the broken down products, the rate is given by

 Glucose is found to decompose by a first-order reaction. As glucose is depleted, the

concentration of 5-HMF increases rapidly at the beginning of the reaction and then
increases at a slower rate as time progresses.
 The decomposition products of 5-HMF increase slowly at first, indicating an
induction or lag period, and then increase at a greater rate.
Michaelis-Menten equation- steady state approximation

 These three basic complex reaction types can be combined in different ways. One
important combination describes processes that occur at interfaces.
 These appear repeatedly in the life sciences, e.g. enzyme-substrate,
transmitter-receptor, drug-receptor binding.
 The kinetics are described by the Michaelis-Menten equation, which assumes that
the enzyme E and the substrate S form an unstable complex ES, which can either
reform S or form a new product, P:

 The overall reaction rate is the rate at which P is formed. This is first order
depending on [ES], thus
dP/dt = k3[ES]
 No negative sign because P increases as t increases
 Unfortunately, we normally have no way of measuring [ES] but we can measure the
value [S], [P] and [E0] the total concentration of the enzyme. However, the rate at
which [ES] changes is the rate at which it forms from E and S, (kl [E] [S]), minus the

13
 rates at which it decomposes to reform E and S, (k2[ES]), or to form P,
(k3[ES]).Thus:

 In practice [ES] is small as the complex decomposes rapidly. Changes in [ES] soon
become negligible compared to other concentration changes in the system.
 Then [ES] is almost a constant, d[ES]/dt = 0, and the system is said to be at a
steady state.
 Thus at the steady state:

 Rearranging the equation results

 Where the subscript ss is used to designate the concentration referred to as

the steady state value
 The total concentration of the enzyme, E0, is the sum of the concentration of
enzyme both free, E, and bound E.S
E0 = E + [E.S]
 Eliminating E from the above equation will result

Or

14
 Where

 Thus, under steady state condition, the rate of product formation is given by

 This equation is recognized as Michaleis-Menten equation. The Michealis-

Menten constant (Km) indicates the tendency of the enzyme-substrate
complex to decompose to starting substrate or to proceed to product, relative
to the tendency of the complex to be formed
 The maximum velocity for Michealis-Menten equation (dp/dt maximum
which is written as Vm) occurs when all the enzyme is present as a complex
o When S is very large, all the enzyme E 0 is present as E.S , that is, all
enzyme is combined with the substrate and the reaction proceeds at
maximum velocity
dp/dt = Vm = K3E0
dp/dt = V= Vm× S
Km + S
 This equation can be inverted to obtain a linear expression known as the
Lineweaver-Burk equation

 Plot of 1/V versus 1/S yields a straight line with an intercept on the vertical
axis of 1/Vm and a slope of Km/Vm
We can determine Km from the intercept and the slope

15
 Fig.3. A lineweaver-Burk plot of Michealis-Menten kinetics
 Michealis-Menten kinetics is used not only for enzyme reaction but also for
biochemical process in the body involving carriers that transport substances
across membranes such as blood capillaries and renal tubules

6.3. Physical and chemical degradation

 Drug substances used as pharmaceuticals have diverse molecular structures and are,
therefore, susceptible to many and variable degradation pathways.
 Possible degradation pathways include hydrolysis, dehydration, isomerization and
racemization, elimination, oxidation, photodegradation, and complex interactions
with excipients and other drugs
 The possible means of physical change that occur in drug substance and excipients
can be Crystallization of Amorphous Drugs, Transitions in Crystalline States,
Formation and Growth of Crystals, Vapor-Phase Transfers Including Sublimation
and Moisture Adsorption

Chemical degradation
1. Hydrolysis
 Hydrolysis is the breakdown of a drug product when it comes in contact with water. It is
one of the most common reaction seen with pharmaceuticals

16
  Hydrolysis is often the main degradation pathway for drug substances having ester and
amide functional groups within their structure
Ester
 There are many different drugs with ester linkage in their formula and are susceptible to
degradation by hydrolysis

 Carboxylic acid esters:- These include ethylparaben, benzocaine, procaine, aspirin,

atropine, scopolamine, methylphenidate, meperidine, steroid esters such as
hydrocortisone sodium succinate and methylprednisolone sodium succinate, and
succinylcholine chloride

 These two compounds have similar structure. Therefore, information about the reactivity
of one of them could be the basis for predicting the stability of the other
 Compound which have ester linkage in a cyclic form include pilocarpine, dalvastatin,
warfarin and camptothecin
Amides
 Amide bonds are commonly found in drug molecules. Amide bonds are less susceptible
to hydrolysis than ester bonds because the carbonyl carbon of the amide bond is less
electrophilic (the carbon-to-nitrogen bond has considerable double bond character) and
the leaving group, an amine, is a poorer leaving group

17
 Fig.4. Hydrolysis of amides
 Acetaminophen, chloramphenicol, lincomycin, indomethacin, and sulfacetamide, all of
which are known to produce an amine and an acid through hydrolysis of their amide
bonds
 B-Lactam antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins, which are cyclic amides or
lactams, undergo rapid ring opening due to hydrolysis

Fig.5. Decomposition of Chloramphenicol through hydrolytic cleavage of the amide linkage

2. Dehydration
 Sugars such as glucose and lactose are known to undergo dehydration to form 5-
(hydroxymethyl)furural.

Fig.6. Dehydration of glucose

18
 Erythromycin is susceptible to acid catalyzed dehydration whereas prostaglandins E1
and E2 undergo dehydration followed by isomerization as it undergoes an intramolecular
ring-closure reaction in the acidic pH range due to dehydration
3. Racemization and Epimerization
 Racemization and epimerization, which are reversible conversions between optical
isomers, have been reported for many drug substances
 Examples of isomerization and racemization of drug substance
 Trans-cis isomerization of amphotericin B, N,O-acyl rearrangement of
cyclosporine A.
 Pilocarpine undergoes epimerization by base catalysis, tetracyclines and
ergotamine exhibit epimerization by acid catalysis.
 Epinephrine is oxidized and undergoes racemization under strongly acidic
conditions
 Other drug include benzodiazepines, penicillins, and cephalosporins

Fig.7. Trans-cis isomerization of ampothericin B

4. Decarboxylation and Elimination
 Drug substances having a carboxylic acid group are sometimes susceptible to
decarboxylation
 Examples of drugs
 4-Aminosalicylic acid , Foscarnet under strongly acidic conditions, Etodolac
 Other elimination reactions have been reported for various drug substances
 Levothyroxine eliminates iodine

Fig.8. Decarboxylation of 4-Aminosalicylic acid

19
 5. Oxidation
 Oxidation is a well-known chemical degradation pathway for pharmaceuticals. Oxygen,
which participates in most oxidation reactions, is abundant in the environment to which
pharmaceuticals are exposed, during either processing or long-term storage.
 Oxidation mechanisms for drug substances depend on the chemical structure of the drug
and the presence of reactive oxygen species or other oxidants.
 Ascorbic acid, Methyldopa and epinephrine, 5-Aminosalicylic acid, Captopril,
Predinisolone, Promethazine, Vitamin A

Fig.9. Oxidation of ascorbic acid

6. Photodegradation
 Photodegradation has been reported for a large number of drug substances. The
mechanisms for these reactions are generally very complex.
 Photodegradation is often accompanied by oxidation in the presence of oxygen
 Chloroquine, Nifedipine, Reserpine, Chlordiazepoxide, Furosemide, primaquine,
Sodium Nitroprusside
7. Drug-Excipient and Drug-Drug Interactions
 Drugs are rarely formulated as just the drug substance itself. Often, additives or
excipients are present in the formulation.
 Quite often, reactions can occur between the drug and one or more additives
 Similarly, two drugs might be formulated in the same product and react with each
other.

Physical degradation
1. Crystallization of Amorphous Drugs
 Attempts are often made to formulate poorly water-soluble drugs in their amorphous
state.

20
  This is because the solubility of amorphous materials is generally higher than that
of the same substances in their crystalline state.
 However, because of the lower free energy of the crystalline state, amorphous substances
tend to change to their more thermodynamically stable crystalline state with time.
 Therefore, crystallization of amorphous drug substances may occur during long-
term storage and may lead to drastic changes in the release characteristics of the
drug and, hence, changes in its clinical and toxicological behavior
 Examples:- Amorphous Nifedipine, Amorphous furosemide
2. Transitions in Crystalline States
 Polymorphs are different crystalline forms of the same drug. Because these forms have
different free energy or chemical potentials, depending on temperature conditions,
transitions between polymorphs occur.
 Polymorphic transitions during storage may alter critical properties of drugs because the
solubility and dissolution rate of drug substances generally vary with changes in their
crystalline form.
 From a storage perspective, temperature and humidity affect polymorphic
transitions
 Examples:- Nitrofurantoin, Theophylline
3. Formation and Growth of Crystals
 Molecules in a crystal, and the crystals themselves, should not be considered static.
Crystals can grow or decrease in size provided that there is a medium across which the
molecules can travel. This could be a liquid phase or a gaseous phase into which the
molecules can sublime.
 For example, drug substances and excipients in solid dosage forms, such as tablets and
granules, may recrystallize or sublime onto the surface of the dosage form during storage.
 Caffeine anhydride, Aspirin tablets
4. Vapor-Phase Transfers Including Sublimation
 Pharmaceuticals containing components that sublime easily may undergo changes in drug
content owing to the sublimation of the drug substances or excipients.

21
  Example;- In the case of nitroglycerin, which is a liquid with a significant vapor pressure,
sublingual tablets exhibited significant variations in drug content during storage owing to
intertablet migration through the vapor phase
5. Moisture Adsorption
 Moisture adsorption is generally observed with solid pharmaceuticals
 Moisture adsorption during storage can also affect the physical stability beside the
chemical stability, of pharmaceuticals
 This leads to a change in such properties such as appearance and dissolution rate

6.4. Factors affecting the stability of drugs

 Stability: is the capacity of a drug product to remain within specifications established to
ensure its identity, strength quality and purity.
 Instability may cause
- Undesired change in performance, i.e. dissolution/bioavailability
- Substantial changes in physical appearance of the dosage form
- Causing product failures
 Factors affecting Stability
1- Environmental factors
- Temperature - Light
- Oxygen - Moisture
- Carbon dioxide
2- Drugs or excipients in the dosage form
- Particle size of drug
- pH of the vehicle
3- Microbial contamination
4- Trace metal Contamination
5- Leaching from containers
6- Formulation factors
- Processing method
- Mixing/ Milling

22
6.5. Influence of temperature on reaction rates
 Reactions take place when particles collide with a certain amount of energy . As a
reaction proceeds from reactants to products, the system must pass through a state whose
energy is greater than that of initial reactants
 This barrier is what prevents the reactants from immediately becoming
products
 The minimum amount of energy needed for the particles to react is called the activation
energy, and is different for each reaction
 If particles collide with less energy than the activation energy, they will not
react. They will just bounce off each other
 The rate of a reaction depends on two things:
 The frequency of collision between particles
 The energy with which particles collide
 The different factors which affect the rate of reaction include
 Increase surface area of solid reactants
o The smaller the pieces, the larger the surface area. This means more
collisions and a greater chance of reaction
 Use of catalyst
o Catalysts are substances that change the rate of a reaction without being
used up in the reaction.
o Catalysts never produce more product – they just produce the same
amount more quickly.
o They work by lowering the reaction’s activation energy (E a) so that the
reaction will occur with little energy

23
energy (kJ)

reaction (time)
Fig.10. The effect of catalyst on the activation energy
 Increasing the concentration of dissolved reactants, and increased pressure of
gaseous reactants
o The higher the concentration of a dissolved reactant, the faster the rate of a
reaction.
o At a higher concentration, there are more particles in the same amount of
space. This means that the particles are more likely to collide and
therefore more likely to react.
o As the pressure increases, the space in which the gas particles are moving
becomes smaller.
o The gas particles become closer together, increasing the frequency of
collisions. This means that the particles are more likely to react
 Solvent (Dielectric constant)
 PH of the aqueous solution
o The apparent rate constant for many reactions is affected markedly by pH.
PH is perhaps the most important and widely examined parameter that
affects hydrolysis of drugs in liquid formulations.
o If the drug is a derivative of a carboxylic acid or contains functional
groups based on this moiety, for example, an ester, amide, lactone, lactam,
imide, or carbamate, then that drug is liable to undergo hydrolytic
degradation.

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 o Hydrolysis is frequently catalyzed by hydrogen ions (specific acid
catalysis) or hydroxyl ions (specific base catalysis). Under specific acid
catalysis and specific base catalysis, the reaction tends to go faster in
acidic (low pH) and basic (high pH) medium, respectively, than they
would otherwise in a neutral system.
o If the drug solution is buffered, the decomposition may not be
accompanied by an appreciable change in the concentration of acid or
base; however, it may be catalyzed by other acidic and basic species that
are commonly encountered as components of buffers. This type of
catalysis is referred to as general acid-base catalysis.
 Light, oxygen
 Increased temperature
 Reaction rates are expected to be proportional to the number of collision per unit time.
Because the number of collision increases as the temperature increases, the reaction rate
is expected to increase with increasing temperature
 The speed of many reactions increase about two or three times with each
100C rise in temperature
 At a higher temperature, particles have more energy. This means they move
faster and are more likely to collide with other particles.
 When this particles collide, they do so with more energy, and so the number
of successful collision increases
 The effect of temperature on reaction rate is given by equation, first suggested by
Arrhenius

Or

Where K is the specific reaction rate, A is a constant known as the Arrhenius factor, Ea is
the energy of activation, R is the gas constant (1.987calories/deg.mol) and T is the
absolute temperature
 Plot of 1/T against log k will give a slope of –Ea/2.303.R and intercept of log A

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  Relations of this type between T and rate are observed for unimolecular and bimolecular
reactions and often are also observed for complex reactions
 The expression for two different temperature will become

at T1

at T2
 Subtracting these two equations yields

Classical collision theories of reaction rates

 The collision theory of reaction rates postulates that a collision must occur between
molecules for a reaction to occur and further, that a reaction between molecules does not
take place unless the molecules are of certain energy.
 Because kinetic energy is proportional to the square of velocity, the distribution of
molecular velocity corresponds to the distribution of molecular energy
 Boltzman distribution law expresses the fraction of molecules having a kinetic energy

 This law shows that from the total number of moles, N T, of a reactant, Ni moles
have a kinetic energy given by Ei
 Based on the collision theory, the rate of a reaction can be considered proportional to the
number of moles of reactant having sufficient energy to react, that is
Rate = PZNi
 The proportionality constant in this relation is divided into two terms:-
o The collision number (Z) – is the number of collision per second per cubic
centimeter

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 o The steric or probability factor (P) – gives the probability that a collision
between molecules will lead to products. It takes into account the fact that
not every collision between molecules leads to reaction
 The rate with regard to P and Z becomes

 When compared with the general rate law leads to the formula
Rate = k × concentration

 Thus the collision-state theory interprets the Arrhenius factor A in terms of the frequency
of collision between molecules
A = PZ
 And the Arrhenius activation energy, Ea, as the minimum kinetic energy a molecule must
possess in order to undergo a reaction
Ea = Ei

6.6. Stability study

 The purpose of stability testing is to provide evidence on how the quality of a drug
substance (active ingredient) or drug product (formulation) varies with time under the
influence of a variety of environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and light.
 Stability testing permits the establishment of recommended storage conditions,
retest periods, and shelf lives
 Stability studies should include testing of those attributes of the drug substance or drug
product that are susceptible to change during storage and are likely to influence quality,
safety, and or efficacy
 The testing should cover, as appropriate, the physical, chemical, biological, and
microbiological attributes, preservative content and functionality test
 There are three types of stability studies:-
 Physical stability
 Chemical stability
 Microbiological stability

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Physical stability
 Physical stability implies that the formulation is totally unchanged throughout its shelf
life and has not suffered any changes by way of appearance, organoleptic properties,
hardness, brittleness, particle size etc.
 It is significant as it affects
 Pharmaceutical elegance
 Drug content uniformity
 Drug release rate
Likely physical instability problem
 For oral solutions:- Instability may change the smell, feel or taste of the preparation
 Loss of flavor
 Change in taste
 Presence of off flavors due to interaction with plastic bottle
 Loss of dye
 Precipitation
 Discoloration
 For parenteral preparation:- Instability may change the appearance and bio-availability
 Discoloration due to photo chemical reaction or oxidation
 Presence of precipitate due to interaction with container or stopper
 Presence of “whiskers”
 Clouds
 For suspensions:- Instabiity may cause the loss of drug content uniformity in different
doses from the bottle and loss of elegance
 Settling
 Caking
 Crystal growth
 For emulsion:- Instabiity may cause the loss of drug content uniformity in different doses
from the bottle and loss of elegance
 Creaming
 Coalescence

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  For semisolids:- Instabiity may cause the loss of drug content uniformity in different
doses from the bottle, loss of elegance and a change in drug release rate
 Changes in Particle size and Consistency
 Caking or coalescence
 For tablets:- Change in drug release
 Change in disintegration time
 Change in dissolution profile
 Change in hardness
 Change in appearance (soft and ugly or become very hard)
 For capsule:- Change in drug release
 Strength
 Dissolution profile
 Appearance

Chemical stability

 Chemical stability implies the lack of any decomposition in the chemical moiety that is
incorporated in the formulation as the drug, preservatives or any other excipients.
 This decomposition may influence the physical and chemical stability of the drug
 Chemical instability may be caused by oxidation, hydrolysis and photolysis

Microbiological stability

 Microbiological stability implies that the formulation has not suffered from any
microbiological attack and is meeting the standards with respect to lack of
contamination/sterility

6.7. Stabilization of drug products

 Altering the properties of the solid drug

 Increasing melting point
 Choosing a non-hygroscopic form (crystal or salt form)
 Reducing solubility by choosing a less soluble salt

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  Micellar inclusion
 Complexation
 Engineering of the particles (shape)
 Minimizing the level of moisture in the formulation
 Choice of excipients
 Co-solvents
 Manufacturing conditions
 Storage conditions
 Packaging
 Changing the micro-environment around the drug particles in the formulation
 Adjusting the pH by using acids, bases, or buffer salts
 Incorporating complexation agents to inactivate trace metal ions
 Displacing oxygen with nitrogen or argon
 Incorporating antioxidant
 Physically separating the reacting species
 Minimizing the contact among the interacting drug(s) and excipients, and water
o Coating with polymers/microencapsulation
 Multi-layer tablet

Accelerated stability testing

 All medicinal products decompose with time. Instabilities in modern formulations are
often detectable only after considerable storage periods under normal conditions.
 To assess the stability of a formulated product it is usual to expose it to 'high stress', i.e.
conditions of temperature, humidity and light intensity that are known from experience to
be likely causes of breakdown.
 High stress conditions enhance the deterioration of the product and therefore reduce the
time required for testing.
 This enables more data to be gathered in a shorter time, which in turn will allow
unsatisfactory formulations to be eliminated early in a study and will also reduce
the time for a successful product to reach the market.

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 It must be emphasized that extrapolations to 'normal' storage conditions must be made
with care, and that the formulator must be sure that such extrapolations are valid.
 It is advisable therefore to run concurrently a batch under expected normal
conditions to confirm later that these assumptions are valid.
 The objectives of such accelerated tests may be defined as:
1. The rapid detection of deterioration in different initial formulations of the same
product
o This objective is accomplished by choosing from a series of possible
choices the best formulation that exhibits the least amount of
decomposition in a given time under the influence of a reasonably high
stress
2. The prediction of shelf-life, which is the time a product will remain satisfactory
when stored under expected or directed storage conditions;
o This objective is achieved by using the results obtained from an
accelerated test to predict the amount of decomposition in a product after a
longer period of storage under normal conditions.
3. The provision of a rapid means of quality control, which ensures that no
unexpected change has occurred in the stored product.
o This objective can be accomplished by developing a sensitive, stability-
indicating assay procedure to quantitate the drug substance and
degradation products accurately when subjected to common stresses to
predict the fate of the drug substance or drug product in long-term use
conditions
 Good formulations will invariably break down more slowly than poor ones. Even though
no absolute conclusions can be drawn about their predicted stability under normal storage
from data obtained under stress conditions, such tests allow formulations to be optimized
relatively quickly.
 When the perceived optimal formulation is decided, attempts can be made to predict its
likely stability at proposed storage conditions.
 These may be at 25°C for ambient room temperature (or 30°C for use in hot
climates), or 0-4°C for a refrigerator.

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  The amount of decomposition that is acceptable in fixing an expiry date depends on the
particular drug. This will be small if the therapeutic index (ratio of toxic dose/effective
dose) is low, e.g. digoxin, or if the decomposition products are toxic.
 It might be decided to fix the shelf-life as being the time taken for 10% of the
drug to decompose at 25°C.

6.8. Stability testing protocols

 Accelerated stability testing requires the careful design of protocols which must define
clearly the following:
1. The temperature and humidity for storage
2. Storage time before sampling
3. The number of batches to be sampled
4. The number of replicates within each batch
5. A suitable light challenge
6. Details of assay
 Although all pharmaceutical products have to satisfy government regulatory authorities,
surprisingly there are no nationally or internationally standardized storage conditions.
 Storage conditions during stability testing vary from company to company and
even within a single company.
 Often different types of products are given different challenges. Two alternative stability
protocol strategies are
a. Factorial analysis
 Factorial analysis is a simple approach for gauging the likely effect of additional factors
for which no simple descriptive relationship such as the Arrhenius equation exists.
 For example, it may reasonably be suspected that light and humidity cause the
degradation of a freeze-dried antibiotic powder. The powder is therefore stored
under low and high stresses in sealed vessels over water or desiccant on
windowsills and in cupboards.
o After a suitable time the amount of decomposition is measured
b. A structured approach
 At least two, possibly three, batches are stored as indicated and subsequently tested in
duplicate.

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  Products are usually stored in their final container.
 If at this stage the final pack has not been confirmed, a range of packs and pack
materials must be tested.
 Some batches of liquid products may be stored in an inverted position to check for
interaction between the ingredients and the liner of the cap.
 It is important that stability studies are performed at all stages of product development.
 The products may also be exposed to an additional light challenge.
 This may be in the form of a standard fluorescent-tube light cabinet

6.9. Prediction of shelf-life from accelerated stability study

 Shelf life is best defined as the time span over which the quality of a product remains
within specifications. That is, it is the time period over which the efficacy, safety, and
esthetics of the product can be assured
 Shelf life is referred to as t90 when the lower specification limit of content is
90%.
 The mathematical prediction of shelf-life is based on the application of the Arrhenius
equation, which indicates the effect of temperature on the rate constant, k, of a chemical
reaction. The graph of ln k versus the reciprocal of thermodynamic temperature, l/T, is a
straight line.
 If the slope of this line is determined from the results of accelerated tests at high
temperatures it is possible to determine the value of the rate constant at other
temperatures (e.g. normal room temperature) by extrapolation.
 Substitution of this value of k into the appropriate order of reaction (i.e. the rate
equation that applies to the reaction involved in the particular decomposition)
allows the amount of decomposition after a given time to be calculated.

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 Fig.11. Arrhenius plot for predicting the stability of drug at room temperature
 This approach involves knowledge of the order of the reaction involved, and preliminary
experiments are therefore necessary to determine this order.
 A similar method for predicting shelf life is plotting fractional life period against
reciprocal of temperature and the time in days required for a drug to decompose to
fraction to some fraction of its original potency at room temperature is obtained
 First:- The log percent of drug remaining is plotted against time in days
o The time for potency to fall to 90% of the original value is read from the
graph

Fig.12. Time in days required for a drug potency to fall to 90% of its original amount
 Second:- The log time to 90% is then plotted against 1/T
o The time at 250C gives the shelf life of the product in days

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 Fig.13. A log plot of time to 90% potency against reciprocal of temperature
 Several difficulties and limitations are involved in this aspect of accelerated stability
testing
 First, as in all accelerated tests, there is the possibility that the application of high
stresses may cause reactions that would not take place under the lower stresses
associated with normal storage conditions.
 Secondly, the uncertainty surrounding the term 'normal storage conditions'
introduces a difficulty when attempting to forecast the shelf-life of a product.
Unless the storage conditions are defined precisely on the container, allowance
should be made for variations in the conditions likely to be encountered under
normal storage.
o Attempts to allow for such a contingency often involve accepting the
shortest shelf-life for the range of conditions likely to be encountered.
o The climate of the country in which a product is to be marketed is
particularly important in defining this range
 Decompositions in formulated products often precede via a complex reaction
series and may involve simultaneous, consecutive or chain reactions, because the
formulated products themselves are complex systems. In addition, the order of a
reaction may change after a certain time.

35
 o Predictions of the extent of decomposition at future times are then
impracticable, and prolonged tests under normal storage conditions must
be carried out.
 In spite of these difficulties the application of accelerated testing to pharmaceutical
products is often useful, and predicted shelf-lives are sufficiently accurate.
Common high stresses or challenges
Temperature challenge
 An increase in temperature causes an increase in the rate of chemical reactions. The
products are therefore stored at temperatures higher than room temperature.
 The nature of the product often determines the range covered in the accelerated test.
Samples are removed at various time intervals and the extent of decomposition is
determined by analysis.
 Sensitive analytical methods should be used in all stability tests of this nature, as
small changes may be detected after very short storage periods.
 The most useful feature of the Arrhenius equation in pharmacy is that it allows the
prediction of reaction rates at proposed storage temperatures from data at high
temperatures. Preparations are stored at high temperatures, thus saving time in
developmental formulation studies.
 However, extrapolation of results is always a risky business, even from a purely
statistical standpoint, when it is assumed that the plot remains linear over the
extrapolated range.
 Added to this is the (small) variation in A with temperature and the possibility of
change in reaction mechanism with temperature.
 The Arrhenius equation involves only one rate constant and therefore applies to a simple
(single step) decomposition mechanism. It cannot be used for complex reactions
(consecutive, parallel etc.)
 All sorts of confounding factors may invalidate the procedure. For example, the
higher temperatures may reduce the moisture content of the product, thus slowing
hydrolysis, gelatin may soften or melt, tablet coatings may split; the effects of
temperature on photochemical and microbiological destruction are unpredictable.

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