Low-density microparticles with petaloid surface structure for pulmonary drug delivery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Pharmaceutical Technology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Spray drying is a common method for particle formation.
• Controlling particle morphology is crucial for effective pulmonary drug delivery.
• Psicose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose are suitable excipients for drug formulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify the morphology of spray-dried particles using ammonium bicarbonate.
• To investigate the effect of ammonium bicarbonate transformation on particle surface structure.
• To develop a controllable method for producing low-density microparticles for drug delivery.

Main Methods:

• Spray drying of psicose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose solutions.
• Addition of ammonium bicarbonate (ABC) to the spray drying solution.
• Controlled variation of ABC evaporation rate during the process.

Main Results:

• Ammonium bicarbonate decomposed into gases during spray drying, altering particle morphology.
• Low-density microparticles with a unique petaloid surface structure were produced.
• The petaloid surface structure was controllable by adjusting the ABC evaporation rate.

Conclusions:

• The addition of ammonium bicarbonate is an effective method to modify spray-dried particle morphology.
• This technique allows for the controllable production of low-density microparticles with specific surface structures.
• The developed method shows promise for enhancing solid particle characteristics for pulmonary drug delivery.