Introduction: Amorphous solid dispersions are considered as one of the most powerful strategies to formulate poorly soluble drugs. They are made up of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) dispersed at the molecular level in an amorphous polymeric carrier. As the latter component constitutes the largest part of the formulation, its characteristics will contribute to a large extent to the properties and behavior of the solid dispersion.

Areas covered: Amorphous polymers are most often used in modern solid dispersion formulations. This review discusses carrier properties like molecular weight, conformation, hygroscopicity, their stabilization effects, issues related to solid dispersion manufacturing technology, response to downstream processing, and potential to generate supersaturation, next to criteria to select a carrier to formulate stable amorphous solid dispersions.

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