Dehydration Kinetics of Theophylline-7-Acetic Acid Monohydrate

A hydrated form of theophylline-7-acetic acid obtained by recrystallization from water is described and characterized in terms of thermal properties, physical stability with respect to relative humidity and dehydration kinetics. The hydrate resulted to be stable at ambient conditions. Fitting of experimental dehydration data to solid state reaction equations suggests a three dimensional phase boundary reaction proceeding from the surface of the crystal inward along three dimensions. The relevant activation energy calculated from the Arrhenius plot is 173 kJ/mol.