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The far-infrared properties of all five known polymorphic forms of the drug sulfathiazole have been studied by terahertz pulsed spectroscopy and low-frequency Raman spectroscopy. The observed spectra of the different polymorphs are distinctly different. Terahertz pulsed spectroscopy proves to be a rapid and complementary alternative to other physical characterization techniques reported in the literature for distinguishing between the five forms. Variable-temperature measurements (293–473 K) of all polymorphic forms have been performed. The phase transitions observed have been related to thermal analysis data. Form I is the form stable at high temperature of sulfathiazole with a melting point of about 475 K. Form II melts at around 470 K and recrystallizes at higher temperatures to form I. Forms III, IV, and V all convert to form I via a solid–solid phase transition at temperatures below 450 K. The phase transitions can be monitored by terahertz pulsed spectroscopy. Polymorphic impurities of the samples can be detected in the room temperature spectra and their effect on the phase transition behavior can be studied. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 95:2486–2498, 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delayed release dosage forms such as Asacol® employ coatings that are engineered to breakdown and release the drug topically at the nominal pH of the lower intestinal tract. Asacol tablets were found to dissolve in an erratic fashion when they are dissolved in buffers below pH 7 which can occur naturally. In this study Terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI) was used to accurately map the coating thickness of a group of Asacol tablets that were subsequently dissolved using the USP method at pH 6.8. The mean dissolution times were found to correlate with the average coating thickness measured over all surfaces. Thickness values for a single randomly selected face did not correlate well with the dissolution results. The speed and ease of TPI mapping may make it an attractive replacement for wet dissolution testing both in product development and eventually for process analysis. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:1543–1550, 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]