Phase behavior of TPGS-PEG400/1450 systems and their application to liquid formulation: A formulation platform approach

Vitamin E d‐alpha‐tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) and polyethylene glycol are common excipients used in both preclinical and commercial formulations. In this paper, the phase diagrams of TPGS and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) in the presence of either water or ethanol were constructed. The effect of water and ethanol on the cloud point temperature of TPGS-PEG 400 mixtures was investigated. In general, the cloud point temperature was reduced by the presence of either water or ethanol in the formulation. However, water was more effective in lowering the cloud point temperature than ethanol. Similarly, the phase diagram of TPGS-PEG 1450 was constructed. The cloud point temperature was observed to decrease with increasing TPGS concentration. It was found that TPGS and PEG 1450 could form a single phase when TPGS concentration was above 75%, based on differential scanning calorimetry, and FT‐Raman analysis indicated that a vibration at 1330 cm-1 disappeared in the melted single phase. In addition, a systematic melting point depression was observed for the mixtures of TPGS-PEG 1450. In the presence of Ibuprofen, a model compound, the cloud point temperature was also reduced. Finally, the extended Flory-Huggins theory for polymer solution was used to analyze the entropic and enthalpic contributions of water and ethanol to the free energy of mixing. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:4907-4921, 2011