Quantitative study of solid-state acid–base reactions between polymorphs of flufenamic acid and magnesium oxide using X-ray powder diffraction

The purpose of this study is to investigate solid-state acid–base reactions between polymorphs of flufenamic acid (FFA) and magnesium oxide (MgO) using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Polymorphs of FFA were blended with MgO and stored under conditions of 96.5% RH and 89% RH at 40 °C. The disappearance of FFA and production of magnesium flufenamate were monitored by XRPD. It was observed that the reactions between FFA and MgO proceeded following the Jander equation. Form I of FFA is more reactive with MgO than Form III. Differential accessibility of reactive groups is hypothesized as one of the reasons that Form I is more reactive than Form III. It was noted that the reaction between FFA and MgO could be mitigated by adding another acidic excipient such as polyacrylic acid to prevent the acid–base reaction with FFA. The effectiveness of polyacrylic acid was impacted by the mixing order of the tertiary mixture. Mixing polyacrylic acid and MgO first provided the most significant protection. In conclusion, solid-state acid–base reactions could be investigated using XRPD. Different forms may have distinct reactivity. Acid–base reactions in the solid state could be mitigated through the addition of another “shielding” excipient.