Comparing the crystallization of sucrose and lactose in spray dryers

Impact of dispersion media and carrier type on spray-dried proliposome powder formulations loaded with beclomethasone dipropionate for their pulmonary drug delivery via a next generation impactor

Drug delivery via aerosolization for localized and systemic effect is a non-invasive approach to achieving pulmonary targeting. The aim of this study was to prepare spray-dried proliposome (SDP) powder formulations to produce carrier particles for superior aerosolization performance, assessed via a next generation impactor (NGI) in combination with a dry powder inhaler. SDP powder formulations (F1-F10) were prepared using a spray dryer, employing five different types of lactose carriers (Lactose monohydrate (LMH), lactose microfine (LMF), lactose 003, lactose 220 and lactose 300) and two different dispersion media. The first dispersion medium was comprised of water and ethanol (50:50% v/v ratio), and the second dispersion medium comprised wholly of ethanol (100%). In the first dispersion medium, the lipid phase (consisting of Soya phosphatidylcholine (SPC as phospholipid) and Beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP; model drug) were dissolved in ethanol and the lactose carrier in water, followed by spray drying. Whereas in second dispersion medium, the lipid phase and lactose carrier were dispersed in ethanol only, post spray drying. SDP powder formulations (F1-F5) possessed significantly smaller particles (2.89 ± 1.24-4.48 ± 1.20 μm), when compared to SDP F6-F10 formulations (10.63 ± 3.71-19.27 ± 4.98 μm), irrespective of lactose carrier type via SEM (scanning electron microscopy). Crystallinity of the F6-F10 and amorphicity of F1-F15 formulations were confirmed by XRD (X-ray diffraction). Differences in size and crystallinity were further reflected in production yield, where significantly higher production yield was obtained for F1-F5 (74.87 ± 4.28-87.32 ± 2.42%) then F6-F10 formulations (40.08 ± 5.714-54.98 ± 5.82%), irrespective of carrier type. Negligible differences were noted in terms of entrapment efficiency, when comparing F1-F5 SDP formulations (94.67 ± 8.41-96.35 ± 7.93) to F6-F10 formulations (78.16 ± 9.35-82.95 ± 9.62). Moreover, formulations F1-F5 demonstrated significantly higher fine particle fraction (FPF), fine particle dose (FPD) and respirable fraction (RF) (on average of 30.35%, 890.12 μg and 85.90%) when compared to counterpart SDP powder formulations (F6-F10). This study has demonstrated that when a combination of water and ethanol was employed as dispersion medium (formulations F1-F5), superior formulation properties for pulmonary drug delivery were observed, irrespective of carrier type employed.

A critical review of spray-dried amorphous pharmaceuticals: Synthesis, analysis and application

New drugs are frequently found with poor water-solubility in recent pharmaceutical projects, which brings difficulties of bioavailability for the clinical development of new drugs. When these drug compounds in a crystalline state are absorbed by gastrointestinal tract, their dissolution rates and absorption rates are very limited. Nowadays, various methods have been developed to improve the solubility, dissolution and bioavailability of drugs. According to the characteristics of drugs, this work suggests the use of spray drying technology to amorphize APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) to improve their bioavailability. This work reviews the properties of the spray-dried amorphous drugs, the progress made in drug synthesis and application, and the existing problems.

Spray-Dried Proliposome Microparticles for High-Performance Aerosol Delivery Using a Monodose Powder Inhaler

Proliposome formulations containing salbutamol sulphate (SS) were developed using spray drying, and the effects of carrier type (lactose monohydrate (LMH) or mannitol) and lipid to carrier ratio were evaluated. The lipid phase comprised soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC) and cholesterol (1:1), and the ratios of lipid to carrier were 1:2, 1:4, 1:6, 1:8 or 1:10 w/w. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) revealed an interaction between the components of the proliposome particles, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that mannitol-based proliposomes were uniformly sized and spherical, whilst LMH-based proliposomes were irregular and relatively large. Using a two-stage impinger (TSI), fine particle fraction (FPF) values of the proliposomes were higher for mannitol-based formulations, reaching 52.6%, which was attributed to the better flow properties when mannitol was used as carrier. Following hydration of proliposomes, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that vesicles generated from mannitol-based formulations were oligolamellar, whilst LMH-based proliposomes generated 'worm-like' structures and vesicle clusters. Vesicle size decreased upon increasing carrier to lipid ratio, and the zeta potential values were negative. Drug entrapment efficiency (EE) was higher for liposomes generated from LMH-based proliposomes, reaching 37.76% when 1:2 lipid to carrier ratio was used. The in vitro drug release profile was similar for both carriers when 1:6 lipid to carrier ratio was used. This study showed that spray drying can produce inhalable proliposome microparticles that can generate liposomes upon contact with an aqueous phase, and the FPF of proliposomes and the EE offered by liposomes were formulation-dependent.

Methods to characterize the structure of food powders – a review

Food powders can exist in amorphous, crystalline or mixed structure depending on the order of molecular arrangement in the powder particle matrices. In food production, the structure of powders has a greatly effect on their stability, functionality, and applicability. The undesirable structure of powders can be accidentally formed during production. Therefore, characterization of powder structure as well as quantification of amorphous–crystalline proportions presenting in the powders are essential to control the quality of products during storage and further processing. For these purposes, many analytical techniques with large differences in the degree of selectivity and sensitivity have been developed. In this review, differences in the structure of food powders are described with a focus being placed on applications of amorphous powders. Essentially, applicability of common analytical techniques including X-ray, microscopic, vapor adsorption, thermal, and spectroscopic approaches for quantitative and qualitative structural characterization of food powders is also discussed.

Influence of Black Mulberry Juice Addition and Spray Drying Conditions on Some Physical Properties of Ice Cream Powder

In this study, the overall quality characteristics of ice cream powders (drying yield, moisture content, water activity, bulk density, solubility and glass transition temperature) and ice creams made from their corresponding reconstituted powders (overrun, melting behavior) were analyzed. The effect of spray drying conditions such as inlet air temperature (120, 140 and 160 °C) and feed flow rate (1.5, 3 and 4.5 mL/min) and black mulberry juice addition (15, 30 and 45 %) were included in the design. The results showed that, by increasing inlet air temperature water activity, bulk density and overrun were decreased, while solubility and melting rate of reconstituted powders were increased. Generally, mass recovery percentage of ice cream powders was decreased with increase of feed flow rate and juice concentration at the same air inlet temperature due to the stickiness problem and the low glass transition temperature of components. The following optimum process conditions with the desirability of 0.86 were determined: inlet air temperature of 140 °C, feed flow rate of 1.5 mL/min and juice concentration of 30 %.

Design, characterization, and aerosol dispersion performance modeling of advanced co-spray dried antibiotics with mannitol as respirable microparticles/nanoparticles for targeted pulmonary delivery as dry powder inhalers

Dry powder inhalation aerosols of antibiotic drugs (a first-line aminoglycoside, tobramycin, and a first-line macrolide, azithromycin) and a sugar alcohol mucolytic agent (mannitol) as co-spray dried (co-SD) particles at various molar ratios of drug:mannitol were successfully produced by organic solution advanced co-spray drying from dilute solute concentration. These microparticulate/nanoparticulate aerosols consisting of various antibiotic drug:mannitol molar ratios were rationally designed with a narrow and unimodal primary particle size distribution, spherical particle shape, relatively smooth particle surface, and very low residual water content to minimize the interparticulate interactions and enhance in vitro aerosolization. These microparticulate/nanoparticulate inhalation powders were high-performing aerosols as reflected in the aerosol dispersion performance parameters of emitted dose, fine particle fraction (FPF), respirable fraction (RF), and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD). The glass transition temperature (Tg) values were significantly above room temperature, which indicated that the co-SD powders were all in the amorphous glassy state. The Tg values for co-SD tobramycin:mannitol powders were significantly lower than those for co-SD azithromycin:mannitol powders. The interplay between aerosol dispersion performance parameters and Tg was modeled where higher Tg values (i.e., more ordered glass) were correlated with higher values in FPF and RF and lower values in MMAD.

Conception, preparation and properties of functional carrier particles for pulmonary drug delivery

BACKGROUND

The effectiveness of aerosol therapy is significantly reduced by the mucus layer covering the airways of the tracheobronchial tree. According to the present concept, drug particles are delivered to the lung together with the functional carrier particle that facilitates both the drug transport into the lungs and the penetration of deposited particles through the mucus. The approach of manufacturing multi-component powders with mucoactive compounds and anti-asthmatic medicines (DSCG) bound together in a single particle is additionally considered.

METHODS

Powders were produced with the spray-drying technique from aqueous precursor solutions containing pure low molecular weight dextran, pure mannitol and dextran/mannitol-N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) mixtures (4:1 and 1:1). NAC has been selected for this purpose as a compound, which is known to be mucolytic. Dextran and mannitol are potentially applicable in the field of inhalation drug delivery. They have been used as stabilizers of functional carrier particles. Powders were characterized for their yield and physicochemical properties including: morphology (SEM), moisture content and thermal properties (DSC). Aerosol performance was determined with NGI impactor after standardized aerosolization of the produced powders in a commercial DPI.

RESULTS

Particle size distributions of dextran-NAC powders were characterized by high fine particle fraction (45-62%), which assures good particle deposition in the lower airways. The thermodynamic properties of the powders based on the temperature of the glass transition T(g) (50-63 °C) suggest the required stability during storage at moderate humidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary examination of the required properties of these particles confirms their potential as functional carriers for pulmonary drug delivery.