Enhancing solubility of poorly aqueous soluble drugs: critical appraisal of techniques

A wide variety of new medication disclosures launched by specific benefits of the general public are laced with poor aqueous solubility problems that often obstruct their bioavailability and formulation development. Literature survey demonstrates that about 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients and new chemical entities are considered as poorly soluble. Numerous formulation strategies and methodologies are accessible in literature like SMEDDS, micro/nanoparticles, liposomes, solid dispersions and co-crystals that have been broadly examined for enhancing the solubility of poorly water soluble drugs. The pharmaceutical techniques that are used for preparing these dosage forms play a crucial role in the overall formulation development and scalability. Hence, it seems highly essential to recognize various equipments and the importance of their critical processing parameters while using them to tailor specific product characteristics in the dosage forms. Providing a comprehensive overview, this review endeavors to provide important pharmaceutical techniques used for formulating various dosage forms for solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drugs. © 2017, The Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology.