Solubility Enhancement of Piroxicam Using Co-Crystallization Technique

Co-crystallization is an effective crystal engineering technique for modifying the crystal structure and physiochemical properties of drugs. Pharmaceutical co-crystals are nonionic supramolecular complexes and can be used to altered physiochemical properties such as solubility, stability and bioavailability in pharmaceutical development without affecting chemical composition of API. Piroxicam is a Non-selective COX inhibitors (traditional NSAIDs) used to reduce the pain, inflammation, and stiffness caused by rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Piroxicam belongs to class II drug in BCS classification i.e. low solubility and high permeability. The major problem of this class drug is its low solubility in biological fluids, which results into poor bioavailability after oral administration. The purpose of this study was to prepare pharmaceutical co-crystals of Piroxicam to enhance solubility and dissolution rate by using co-crystallization technique. The co-former used in this study is Para-Aminobenzoic acid, Acetamide and Thiourea. The Optimized co-crystal was characterized by DSC, FTIR, XRPD, SEM and other pharmaceutical properties like solubility and melting point were also evaluated.