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Published on: August 16, 2016
Liposome and niosome preparation using a membrane contactor for scale-up
Thi Thuy Pham1, Chiraz Jaafar-Maalej, Catherine Charcosset
1Université de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon, France.
Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces
|February 14, 2012
Summary
This study demonstrates the successful scale-up of liposome and niosome production using a membrane contactor. This method ensures reproducible vesicle characteristics and high drug encapsulation efficiency for both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
Background:
- Liposomes and niosomes are crucial nanocarriers for drug delivery.
- Scaling up laboratory-based production methods for these nanovesicles presents significant challenges.
- Efficient and reproducible large-scale manufacturing is essential for clinical and commercial applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the scalability of liposome and niosome production from laboratory to pilot scale.
- To evaluate the performance of a membrane contactor module for large-scale nanovesicle preparation.
- To assess the impact of scale-up on nanovesicle characteristics and drug encapsulation efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Ethanol injection method was used for laboratory-scale liposome and niosome preparation.
- Syringe-pump device for lab scale (30 ml liposomes, 20 ml niosomes).
- SPG membrane contactor for pilot scale (750 ml liposomes, 1000 ml niosomes).
- Characterization included mean vesicle size, polydispersity index (PdI), and zeta potential.
- Drug encapsulation efficiency (E.E.%) was assessed using caffeine (hydrophilic) and spironolactone (lipophilic).
Main Results:
- Laboratory-scale nanovesicles ranged from 82-95 nm (liposomes) and 83-127 nm (niosomes).
- Optimal encapsulation efficiencies were ~9.7% for caffeine and ~86.4% for spironolactone in liposomes.
- Optimal encapsulation efficiencies were ~9.7% for caffeine and ~95.6% for spironolactone in niosomes, with slightly higher spironolactone E.E. in niosomes.
- Pilot-scale production using the membrane contactor yielded reproducible vesicle characteristics (size and E.E.%).
Conclusions:
- The membrane contactor module is a viable and effective device for scaling up liposome and niosome production.
- This scale-up method maintains desirable nanovesicle characteristics, including small mean size.
- The SPG membrane contactor facilitates reproducible production of nanovesicles with high drug encapsulation efficiency, suitable for pharmaceutical applications.
