PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Chien, Yie W. TI - Solubilization of Metronidazole by Water-Miscible Multi-Cosolvents and Water-Soluble Vitamins DP - 1984 Jan 01 TA - PDA Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology PG - 32--36 VI - 38 IP - 1 4099 - http://journal.pda.org/content/38/1/32.short 4100 - http://journal.pda.org/content/38/1/32.full SO - PDA J Pharm Sci Technol1984 Jan 01; 38 AB - In the systemic treatment of anaerobic infections, a parenteral mode of administration of metronidazole is preferable. The practical way of administering a parenteral dose(500 mg/dose) of metronidazole in a single injectable dosage form(10 ml) can be achieved by incorporating two or more water-miscible co-solvents, e.g., ethanol,N, N-dimethylacetamide, propylene glycol or solketal, in the aqueous solution. The aqueous solubility of metronidazole was found to increase, exponentially, as increasing the volume fraction of the co-solvents. A maximum solubility of metronidazole was observed in the aqueous solutions with a dielectric constant in the range of 41.49#x00B1; 1.76. The importance of dielectric constant in determining the aqueous solubility of slightly water-soluble metronidazole, which consists of lipophilic and hydrophilic functional groups, was discussed. The aqueous solubility of metronidazole can also be enhanced by solubilizing with a water-soluble vitamin, e.g., nicotinamide, ascorbic acid or pyridoxine HCl. A cage-like structure was postulated to rationalize the observation that 9 molecules of vitamin are required to solubilize every molecule of metronidazole in the aqueous solution.