Liquid Antisolvent Recrystallization of Phenylbutazone and the Effect of Process Parameters.

Phenylbutazone was crystallized from solutions by the liquid antisolvent recrystallization technique. Acetone was used as a solvent, and distilled water was selected as an antisolvent. The influence of processing parameters, such as drug concentration, temperature, injection rate of drug solution, and mixing method of drug solution with antisolvent, on the particle size distribution were investigated. Furthermore, to examine the variation of resulting particle size in the presence of the ultrasound, the ultrasonic wave was applied to all experiments. Larger crystals were obtained when crystallization took place at higher temperatures. The enhancement of drug concentration favored decreased particle size. Regarding the mixing method of the drug solution and antisolvent, smaller particles were produced when the drug solution was injected into antisolvent, and larger crystals were obtained when the antisolvent was injected into drug solutions. As the injection rate of the drug solution increased, the average particle size decreased. The processed particles consistently exhibited an acicular crystal habit. The presence of ultrasound caused a reduction of particle size under all operational conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]