Hot Melt Extrusion: an Emerging Green Technique for the Synthesis of High-Quality Pharmaceutical Cocrystals

Hot melt extrusion (HME) is emerging as a continuous, single-step, scalable, and industrially feasible process for the production of cocrystals. HME has gained momentum as a continuous and solvent-free process in the manufacturing of cocrystals. The incorporation of the matrix and the use of process analytical tool (PAT) for real-time monitoring further facilitate the process. The advantages and disadvantages of various cocrystal production methods including HME process are provided in the manuscript. Besides, an overview of the HME process and equipment, critical process parameters, and PAT for real-time monitoring of process has been reviewed in this article. Finally, recent literature related to the cocrystal synthesis via HME has been presented critically. This review provides useful information for the synthesis of the cocrystals using HME process.