Spray Freeze-drying Technique Research Articles

Design of porous microparticles with single-micron size by novel spray freeze-drying technique using four-fluid nozzle

Spray freeze-drying (SFD) process, which is a novel particle design technique previously developed by authors, has been improved by using four-fluid nozzle (4N) instead of conventional two-fluid nozzle (2N) to expand its application in pharmaceutical industry. Aqueous spray solutions of the drug and the polymeric carrier were separately supplied into 4N, and atomized while colliding with each other at the tip of nozzle. The droplets of mixed solutions were directly immersed into liquid nitrogen and immediately frozen to form a suspension. Then, the iced droplets were lyophilized by freeze-dryer to prepare the composite particles of the drug and carrier. This process has been used in the present study to modify and enhance the dissolution profiles of poorly water-soluble drug, phenytoin. Water-soluble and enteric polymeric carriers in pharmaceutical use were used as a dissolution modifier. The SFD composite particles prepared by using 4N were fully characterized compared to those using 2N from morphological and physicochemical perspectives. It was found that the particles have fine porous structure producing vast specific surface area. Further, phenytoin was completely dispersed as amorphous state in the polymeric matrix with higher carrier ratio than phenytoin:carrier = 1:3. The dissolution of phenytoin from the water-soluble carrier-based particles was greatly enhanced because of large effective surface area and disappearance of crystalline. On the other hand, the release profiles from enteric carrier-based particles showed the typical enteric patterns, that is, delayed in acidic medium and accelerated in neutral pH. The results demonstrated that SFD technique using 4N has potential to develop the novel solubilized formulation for poorly water-soluble APIs.

Particle Characterization of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs Using a Spray Freeze Drying Technique

A spray freeze drying (SFD) method was developed to prepare the composite particles of poorly water-soluble drug. The aqueous solution dissolved drug and the functional polymer was sprayed directly into liquid nitrogen. Then, the iced droplets were lyophilized with freeze-dryer to prepare solid particles. Tolbutamide (TBM) and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) were used as a model drug and water-soluble polymeric carrier in this study, respectively. The morphological observation of particles revealed that the spherical particles having porous structure could be obtained by optimizing the loading amount of drug and polymer in the spray solution. Especially, SFD method was characterized that the prepared particles had significantly larger specific surface area comparing with those prepared by the standard spray drying technique. The physicochemical properties of the resultant particles were found to be dependent on the concentration of spray solution. When the solution with high content of drug and polymer was used, the particle size of the resulting composite particles increased and they became spherical. The specific surface area of the particles also increased as a result of higher concentration of solution. The evaluation of spray solution indicated that these results were dependent on the viscosity of spray solution. In addition, when composite particles of TBM were prepared using the SFD method with HPMC as a carrier, the crystallinity of TBM decreased as the proportion of HPMC increased. When the TBM : HPMC ratio reached 1 : 5, the crystallinity of the particles completely disappeared. The dissolution tests showed that the release profiles of poorly water-soluble TBM from SFD composite particles were drastically improved compared to bulk TBM. The 70% release time T(70) of composite particles prepared by the SFD method in a solution of pH 1.2 was quite smaller than that of bulk TBM, while in a solution of pH 6.8, it was slightly lower. In addition, the release rates were faster than those of standard spray dried (SD) composite particles for solutions of pH 1.2 and 6.8, respectively. When composite particles were prepared from mixtures with various composition ratios, T(70) was found to decrease as the proportion of HPMC increased; the release rate was faster than that of bulk TBM in a solution of pH 6.8, as well as solution of pH 1.2.

Sustained release of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I for treatment of diabetes

Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I (rhIGF-I) was found to improve glycemic control and enhance insulin sensitivity in patients with a syndrome of severe insulin resistance. Therefore, the protein may be considered as an alternative therapy in the treatment of diabetes when the patients become insensitive to insulin treatment. Because the protein was administered twice per day in the clinical trials, a sustained release polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) formulation for rhIGF-I with low initial burst (<20%), maximum possible protein loading (15–20%) and a continuous release of 1–2 weeks may provide greater patient convenience and compliance. The protein was encapsulated in PLGA for sustained release using a spray freeze-drying technique. Formulation parameters such as protein loading, polymer end group, and the presence of zinc carbonate were studied for their effects on in vitro release of rhIGF-I from PLGA microspheres. As the protein loading was increased, the initial burst increased. Due to the hydrophilic properties of the polymers, rhIGF-I encapsulated in unblocked PLGA (free acid end groups) gave a lower initial burst and a more steady-state release profile than the blocked PLGA (hydrocarbon end groups) with the same protein loading and PLGA molecular weight. At 15% w/w protein loading, the addition of 6% w/w zinc carbonate as a protein release modifier to the unblocked PLGA (12 kDa) decreased the initial burst of rhIGF-I. Therefore, a formulation consisting of 15% rhIGF-I and 6% zinc carbonate in 12 kDa, unblocked 50:50 PLGA can provide the required release characteristics in vitro. Rat studies revealed that rhIGF-I in this formulation was released in vivo at a rate which was comparable to that observed in vitro. These studies demonstrate the potential for a sustained release, 14-day formulation for rhIGF-I.

Preparation of various calcium-phosphate powders by ultrasonic spray freeze-drying technique

Various calcium–phosphate powders with Ca/P ratios ranging from 1.00 to 1.67 were prepared by an ultrasonic spray freeze-drying (USFD) technique: (i) 100 cm 3 of aqueous solution containing 0.500 mol·dm −3 of calcium acetate (Ca(CH 3COO) 2), 0.300–0.500 mol·dm −3 of trimethyl phosphate (PO(OCH 3) 3) and 1.77 mol·dm −3 of acetic acid (CH 3COOH) were refluxed at 80°C for 100 h; (ii) the droplets with diameters as small as 2–3 μm, which were formed by the ultrasonic spray of aqueous solution, were introduced into a chamber chilled by liquid nitrogen to freeze the droplets; (iii) the water ice in the frozen droplets was sublimed under reduced pressures; and (iv) the freeze-dried materials were heated at 900°C for 1 h to form calcium phosphates. The β-calcium orthophosphate (β-Ca 3(PO 4) 2) and carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite powders with stoichiometric Ca/P ratios were prepared from the solutions with Ca/P ratio of 1.44 and 1.67, respectively.

Sinterability of Apatite-Zirconia Composite Powder Prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Freeze-Drying Technique

Sinterability of Apatite-Zirconia Composite Powder Prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Freeze-Drying Technique

Sinterability of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Powder Prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Freeze-Drying Technique

Abstract Tetragonal zirconia poly crystals (Y-TZP)containing 3·0 mole% yttria were prepared by (i) the ultrasonic spraying of solutions containing desired amounts of components into a chamber chilled by liquid nitrogen, (ii)the subliming of the ice from the frozen materials and (iii) the calcining of the remaining materials. The resulting Y-TZP powder was composed of ultrafine primary particles with sizes below 0.05 um. The relative density of Y-TZP compacts fired at 1300°C for 5 hrs attained a maximum of 97·3%%