Inhibition of the Vapor-Mediated Phase Transition of the High Temperature Form of Pyrazinamide

Tailor-made additives can prove an effective method to prolong the lifetime of metastable forms of pharmaceutical compounds by surface stabilization. Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a pharmaceutical compound with four polymorphic forms. The high temperature γ form, which can be produced by spray drying or sublimation growth, is metastable at room temperature and transforms within days when produced by spray drying, and within several months up to years for single crystals produced by sublimation. However, when PZA is cospray dried with 1,3-dimethylurea (DMU), it has been reported to remain in its γ form for several years. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal that the phase transition from γ-PZA to the low temperature forms involves a vapor-mediated recrystallization, while the reverse phase transition upon heating is a nucleation-and-growth solid-solid phase transition. The lifetime-extending effect of DMU on spray-dried PZA has been investigated in more detail and compared with high-energy ball milling of sublimation-grown γ-PZA crystals. Co-ball milling of PZA and DMU is found to extend the lifetime of the high temperature form of PZA to a few months, while separate ball milling leads to an extension of merely a few weeks. DMU acts as an additive that most likely stabilizes the surface of γ-PZA, which would reduce the vapor pressure of PZA, thereby reducing the transition rate. Alternatively, DMU could prevent nucleation of low temperature forms of PZA.