Excipient-free, spray-dried powders for pulmonary aztreonam delivery

Abstract

The delivery of antibiotics to the lungs provides a straightforward treatment for lung infections. In this study, the antibiotic of aztreonam (AZT) was spray-dried to prepare drug particles for inhalation. Unlike traditional spray-dried formulations, in which excipients are used to improve powder dispersibility, in this study no excipients were added. Importantly, the excipient-free, AZT spray-dried powders showed excellent flowability, dispersibility and aerosolisation performance. A large amount of drug particles was delivered to the lower stages in the in-vitro aerosolisation test, and the fine particle fraction (particle size < 4.46 μm) was as high as 45% w/w, suggesting an effective delivery of drug particles to the lungs. These excipient-free, AZT spray-dried powders, thus, show an interesting potential to be used as inhaled drugs for the effective treatment of lung infections.