Physicochemical and Micromeritics Properties of Ketoprofen-Tartaric Acid Binary System

Physical characteristics of pharmaceutical active ingredients can be modified by molecular structure rearrangement inside its crystal lattice. Cocrystallization involved the formation of new crystal structure from two different crystal components. In its application in the pharmaceutical field, the formation of cocrystals can comprise the interaction between an active ingredient and an inert substance or between two different drugs. This study aimed to synthesize cocrystal from Ketoprofen and Tartaric Acid. Ketoprofen and Tartaric acid were ground with mortar for 10 minutes prior dissolving in methanol at 40°C with continuous stirring. The solution then filtered and evaporated at ambient temperature. The resulting crystal was ground before further characterization. The individual component and cocrystal were characterized using FTIR, Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and Powder X-Ray Diffractometer (PXRD). The results show that the acquired crystal mass, KET-TAR, is a mixture of a semi-crystalline phase and its non-interacting precursors New phase formation has been confirmed from both PXRD and DSC data. KET-TAR shows greater micromeritics properties compared to Ketoprofen with the value of angle of repose of, bulkiness, Carr's Index, Haussner's Ratio and Porosity are 25.3°, 1.8, 16.667, 1.200 and 61.7% consecutively. Overall improvement in micromeritic properties are clearly shown in the results. (paper)