The present study investigates the effect of changing spray drying temperature (40°C-120°C) and/or atomizing airflow rate (AR; 5-15 L/min) on the phase structure, physical stability, and performance of spray-dried naproxen-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K 25 amorphous solid dispersions. The modulated differential scanning calorimetry, attenuated total internal reflectance-Fourier transform infrared, and powder X-ray diffractometry (pXRD) studies revealed that higher inlet temperature (IT) or atomization airflow leads to the formation of amorphous-phase-separated dispersions with higher strongly H-bonded and free PVP fractions, whereas that prepared with the lowest IT was more homogeneous. The dispersion prepared with the lowest atomization AR showed trace crystallinity. Upon exposure to 75% relative humidity (RH) for 3 weeks, the phase-separated dispersions generated by spray drying at higher temperature or higher atomization airflow retained relatively higher amorphous drug fraction compared with those prepared at slow evaporation conditions. The humidity-controlled pXRD analysis at 98% RH showed that the dispersion prepared with highest atomization AR displayed the slowest kinetics of recrystallization. The molecular-level changes occurring during recrystallization at 98% RH was elucidated by spectroscopic monitoring at the same humidity. The rate and extent of the drug dissolution was the highest for dispersions prepared at the highest atomizing AR and the lowest for that prepared with the slowest atomizing condition.
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