Characterization of Physicochemical Properties and Dissolution Studies of Multicomponent Crystals of Piperine and Glutamic Acid

Piperine, a secondary metabolite compound, has a low solubility in water. In this study, through the formation of multicomponent crystals, glutamic acid is employed as a coformer to enhance the physicochemical characteristics and improve the dissolution rate of piperine. Solvent drop grinding was used to create multicomponent crystals using molar ratios of piperine and glutamic acid of 1:1 (F1), 1:2 (F2), and 2:1 (F3). Characterization of the solids’ properties was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and dissolution profiles in accordance with the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), facilitating a comparison with the physical mixture and pure piperine. XRD results showed a decrease in intensity, and DSC showed a decrease in the endothermic peak transition temperature and significant decreases in enthalpy value. The FT-IR spectra showed a change in wave numbers, and no new functional groups were formed. SEM revealed changes in particle morphology forming new crystal habits. When contrasted with the physical mixture and pure piperine, the dissolution profiles of multicomponent crystals F1, F2, and F3 demonstrate increased dissolution rates, F2 exhibiting a 1.57-fold increase, followed by 1.44-fold for F1 and 1.49-fold for F3. Multicomponent crystals F1, F2, and F3 show a better dissolution profile than the physical mixture and pure piperine, with dissolved substance percentages of 63.60±6.56, 68.59±2.53, 65.25±12.10, 44.91±10.95, and 43.58±8.92, respectively, after 60 minutes at 37±0.5 °C. The multicomponent crystals produced using solvent drop grinding exhibited enhanced physicochemical features and an increased dissolution rate.