FORMULATION SCREENING METHODS, APPARATUSES FOR PERFORMING SUCH METHODS AND FORMULATIONS FORMED BY SUCH METHODS

1 . A method of screening for candidate compound-excipient combinations comprising:

dosing a compound into each receptacle of a collection of receptacles;

dosing a first set of excipients and a second set of excipients into said receptacles wherein said dosing creates multiple combinations of solutions of the first excipient set and the second excipient set within said receptacles;

analyzing each receptacle for the presence of a precipitate; and

classifying the receptacles based on the presence of a precipitate.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of an active pharmaceutical ingredient, a nutraceutical, or an agricultural active substance.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is a well plate, a vial, or a test tube.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein said receptacle is a well plate.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is dosed as a solid.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is dosed in an organic solvent.

7 . The method of claim 6 wherein said compound and organic solvent form a solution.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacles are classified as either having precipitate or not having precipitate.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacles are classified based on the relative amount of precipitate present.

10 . The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of removing the organic solvent prior to dosing with the first and second excipient sets.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one set of excipients includes a set of polymers.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one set of excipients includes a set of surfactants.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one set of excipients includes a set of inclusion compounds.

14 . The method of claim 1 wherein the concentration of said first and second excipient sets are in ratios relative to their amounts dosed in the ratios of high/high, high/low, low/high and low/low combinations of said first excipient/second excipient sets wherein the high concentration and the low concentrations are fixed for a set of receptacles.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein precipitation is analyzed in said receptacles using light obscuration or visual observation.

16 . The method of claim 1 wherein precipitation is analyzed in said receptacles using optical microscopy.

17 . The method of claim 10 wherein said solvent is removed by evaporation.

18 . The method of claim 1 wherein said first and second excipient sets are dosed in an aqueous solution.

19 . The method of claim 18 wherein said first and second excipient sets are dosed in an aqueous ethanol solution.

20 . The method of claim 1 wherein said compound is supersaturated after dosing with the excipients.

21 . The method of claim 20 wherein supersaturation is obtained by increasing and then decreasing the temperature of said receptacle.

22 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is shaken after dosing.

23 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is centrifuged after dosing.

24 . The method of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is sonicated after dosing.

25 . The method of claim 1 further comprising performing a concentration gradient analysis comprising:

dosing said compound into a second set of receptacles wherein said compound is dosed from a minimum to a maximum amount of compound;

dosing into each set of receptacles a first and second excipient set selected from the ratios identified in claim 14 ;

analyzing each receptacle for the presence of a precipitate;

classifying the receptacles based on the presence of a precipitate to identify a solubility limit of the composition in the receptacle.