Numerical simulation of dripping and jetting in supercritical fluids/liquid micro coflows

Supercritical carbon dioxide-based technologies for the production of drug nanoparticles/nanocrystals - A comprehensive review

Low drug bioavailability, which is mostly a result of poor aqueous drug solubilities and of inadequate drug dissolution rates, is one of the most significant challenges that pharmaceutical companies are currently facing, since this may limit the therapeutic efficacy of marketed drugs, or even result in the discard of potential highly effective drug candidates during developmental stages. Two of the main approaches that have been implemented in recent years to overcome poor drug solubility/dissolution issues have frequently involved drug particle size reduction (i.e., micronization/nanonization) and/or the modification of some of the physicochemical and structural properties of poorly water soluble drugs. A large number of particle engineering methodologies have been developed, tested, and applied in the synthesis and control of particle size/particle-size distributions, crystallinities, and polymorphic purities of drug micro- and nano-particles/crystals. In recent years pharmaceutical processing using supercritical fluids (SCF), in general, and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂), in particular, have attracted a great attention from the pharmaceutical industry. This is mostly due to the several well-known advantageous technical features of these processes, as well as to other increasingly important subjects for the pharmaceutical industry, namely their "green", sustainable, safe and "environmentally-friendly" intrinsic characteristics. In this work, it is presented a comprehensive state-of-the-art review on scCO₂-based processes focused on the formation and on the control of the physicochemical, structural and morphological properties of amorphous/crystalline pure drug nanoparticles. It is presented and discussed the most relevant scCO₂, scCO₂-based fluids and drug physicochemical properties that are pertinent for the development of successful pharmaceutical products, namely those that are critical in the selection of an adequate scCO₂-based method to produce pure drug nanoparticles/nanocrystals. scCO₂-based nanoparticle formation methodologies are classified in three main families, and in terms of the most important role played by scCO₂ in particle formation processes: as a solvent; as an antisolvent or a co-antisolvent; and as a "high mobility" additive (a solute, a co-solute, or a co-solvent). Specific particle formation methods belonging to each one of these families are presented, discussed and compared. Some selected amorphous/crystalline drug nanoparticles that were prepared by these methods are compiled and presented, namely those studied in the last 10-15 years. A special emphasis is given to the formation of drug cocrystals. It is also discussed the fundamental knowledge and the main mechanisms in which the scCO₂-based particle formation methods rely on, as well as the current status and urgent needs in terms of reliable experimental data and of robust modeling approaches. Other addressed and discussed topics include the currently available and the most adequate physicochemical, morphological and biological characterization methods required for pure drug nanoparticles/nanocrystals, some of the current nanometrology and regulatory issues associated to the use of these methods, as well as some scale-up, post-processing and pharmaceutical regulatory subjects related to the industrial implementation of these scCO₂-based processes. Finally, it is also discussed the current status of these techniques, as well as their future major perspectives and opportunities for industrial implementation in the upcoming years.

Highly pressurized partially miscible liquid-liquid flow in a micro-T-junction. I. Experimental observations

This is the first part of a two-part study on a partially miscible liquid-liquid flow (liquid carbon dioxide and deionized water) which is highly pressurized and confined in a microfluidic T-junction. Our main focuses are to understand the flow regimes as a result of varying flow conditions and investigate the characteristics of drop flow distinct from coflow, with a capillary number, Ca_{c}, that is calculated based on the continuous liquid, ranging from 10^{-3} to 10^{-2} (10^{-4} for coflow). Here in part I, we present our experimental observation of drop formation cycle by tracking drop length, spacing, frequency, and after-generation speed using high-speed video and image analysis. The drop flow is chronologically composed of a stagnating and filling stage, an elongating and squeezing stage, and a truncating stage. The common "necking" time during the elongating and squeezing stage (with Ca_{c}∼10^{-3}) for the truncation of the dispersed liquid stream is extended, and the truncation point is subsequently shifted downstream from the T-junction corner. This temporal postponement effect modifies the scaling function reported in the literature for droplet formation with two immiscible fluids. Our experimental measurements also demonstrate the drop speed immediately following their generations can be approximated by the mean velocity from averaging the total flow rate over the channel cross section. Further justifications of the quantitative analysis by considering the mass transfer at the interface of the two partially miscible fluids are provided in part II.

A microfluidic approach for investigating multicomponent system thermodynamics at high pressures and temperatures

In this work, we present a novel microfluidic-based approach for investigating the thermodynamics of multicomponent systems at high pressures and temperatures, such as determining miscibility diagrams and critical coordinates of complex mixtures. The developed method is primarily based on (i) bubble and dew point detection through optical characterization and (ii) the use of a so-called dynamic stop-flow measurement mode for fast screening of the diagram parameters, mainly P, T and composition. Our strategy was validated through the studies of model binary CO2-alkane mixtures. The obtained results were then compared to PREOS-calculated and literature data. We later applied this strategy for determining ternary and quaternary mixtures critical coordinates. This approach has equal accuracy compared to conventional high-pressure optical cell methods but allows for a much faster phase diagram determination, taking advantage of improved heat and mass transfers on the microscale and of the dynamic stop-flow approach.