Recrystallization of pharmaceuticals using the batch supercritical anti-solvent process

Recrystallization of five pharmaceutical compounds using the batch supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) Process was investigated in this study. The operation pressure was determined to be in the feasible region using the equation of state method. After the batch SAS process, significant modification of the crystal habits was observed from the SEM images. The recrystallized pharmaceuticals maintained similar crystalline structures after the batch process, as determined from the XRD analysis, but weaker intensities were observed in the XRD patterns. One endothermic peak for mefenamic acid was shifted after the batch SAS process due to particle size reduction OF change in crystal habits. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.