Surface Treatment of Dimenhydrinate Crystals

Dimenhydrinate is a heat-sensitive antihistamine with a low melting point. The heat-sensitive feature is of importance if direct compression is used. Direct measurement of the heat originating in the texture of tablets during compression is very difficult. Thermoanalytical methods were used as indirect methods to describe the changes in material properties at high temperature: differential scanning calorimetry, thermomicroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Film coating method is widely used in pharmaceutical technology. A fluidized bed apparatus was applied to coat the crystals. The coating film forming agent was hydroxy-propyl-methylcellulose (HPMC), which is a gastric-soluble polymer. Thermoanalytical measurements reveal that dimenhydrinate crystals are sensitive to heat. Film coating method does not alter the shape of the DSC curve of dimenhydrinate, but increases the melting point. The presence of a macromolecular film reduces the thermal conductivity, because it separates the particles. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.