A Review on Solubility Enhancement Methods for Poorly Water-soluble Drugs

Abstract

One of the most important parameters in pharmacy is drug solubility. Solubility affects the efficacy ofa drug. Drug solubility has an important role in determining the concentration of a drug to achieve thenecessary pharmacological response, as all drugs absorbed by the body must be in the form of a solution.Drug solubility is quite a common issue and affects the bioavailability of a drug in the body. Drugs withlow solubility are poorly absorbed, resulting in poor bioavailability. Many methods have been developedfor increasing the solubility of a drug. In this review, we will describe possible efforts for improving thesolubility of a drug, e.g., reducing particle size, surfactants, the use of nanosuspension technology, soliddispersion, salt formation, pH adjustment, hydrotropy, cocrystal, amorphous compound formation, andinclusion complexes. The main objective of this review was to focus on efforts that can increase thesolubility of a drug to obtain good drug efficacy.