An Model for Cocrystal Dissolution with Simultaneous Surface and Bulk Precipitation.

Cocrystals can be promising means of overcoming the poor aqueous solubility of many drugs. However, precipitation of the stable drug at the cocrystal surface or in the bulk medium is often provoked during cocrystal dissolution due to high drug supersaturation, which prevents sustaining high drug concentrations for enhanced bioavailability. There is a need for predictive models that can accurately describe this cocrystal dissolution-supersaturation-precipitation (DSP) process to aid drug development and formulation design.