Drying Using Supercritical Fluid Technology as a Potential Method for Preparation of Chitosan Aerogel Microparticles

Supercritical fluid technology offers several advantages in preparation of microparticles. These include uniformity in particle size, morphology, and drug distribution without degradation of the product. One of the recent advantages is preparation of porous aerogel carrier with proper aerodynamic properties. In this study, we aimed to prepare chitosan aerogel microparticles using supercritical fluid (SCF) technology and compare that with microparticles produced by freeze drying (FD). Loading the prepared carriers with a model drug (salbutamol) was also performed. Comparisons of the particle properties and physicochemical characterizations were undertaken by evaluating particle size, density, specific surface area, and porosity. In vitro drug release studies were also investigated. The effect of many variables, such as molecular weight of chitosan oligomers, concentrations of chitosan, and concentrations of tripolyphosphate on the release, were also investigated. Chitosan aerogels were efficiently produced by SCF technology with an average particle size of 10 μm with a tapped density values around 0.12 g/mL, specific surface area (73-103) m(2)/g, and porosity (0.20-0.29) cc/g. Whereas, microparticles produced by FD method were characterized as cryogels with larger particle size (64 microns) with clear cracking at the surface. Sustained release profile was achieved for all prepared microparticles of salbutamol produced by the aforementioned methods as compared with pure drug. The results also demonstrates that chitosan molecular weight, polymer concentration, and tripolyphosphate concentration affected the release profile of salbutamol from the prepared microparticles. In conclusion, SCF technology was able to produce chitosan aerogel microparticles loaded with salbutamol that could be suitable for pulmonary drug delivery system.