Expanding Solutions For Challenging APIs Through Coacervation

By Craig Kramer, Senior Manager, R&D Formulations, Jin-Wang Lai, Ph.D., Senior Director, Research and Development, Adare Pharma Solutions

Microencapsulation encompasses a range of sophisticated drug delivery methods that encloses an active ingredient(s) within a protective polymeric material. Drug developers routinely use such techniques to protect sensitive APIs, for taste masking, or to control the release of active materials. A variety of microencapsulation techniques are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry including fluid bed coating, spray drying, solvent evaporation, and more. However, one method—coacervation—offers several unique benefits to developers interested in working with challenging and/or bitter-tasting molecules, managing a product’s lifecycle, and even accelerating development timelines.

Coacervation is a physical–chemical phase separation process in which a polymer or a mixture of polymers is phased out as a liquid phase from a liquid carrier phase to form a solid coat or entrap a substrate (i.e., the pharmaceutical active). This can be accomplished by microencapsulating the core material in either aqueous media or organic solvent media.