Engineered inhalable micro-balloon shaped drug particles for carrier-free dry powder inhalation (DPI) application
The study presents inhalable balloon-like hollow spherical salbutamol sulfate micro-particles (SSμb) as potential carrier-free alternative to drug-excipient formulation for dry powder inhalation. SSμb is engineered from commercial salbutamol sulfate (SS, active pharmaceutical ingredient) through ultrasound-assisted crystallization coupled with stirring technique. The optimized processing conditions allowed tailored particle properties such as shape and size critical for high drug dose requirements. Time-resolved particle growth study reveals that the hollow structure is formed by mass diffusion of SS from the interior to exterior surface of the droplet generated during process.
Highlights
- • Balloon-like hollow spherical salbutamol sulfate (SSμb) micro-particles.
- • Particles engineered through sonocrystallization coupled with mixing technique.
- • SSμb are crystalline, flowable and exhibit same molecular properties as SS.
- • Achieved high emitted dose (95%) in in-vitro aerosolization studies.
- • Suitable for high drug dose (37.4% FPF) through carrier-free DPI route.
The analytical investigations of SSμb display 87.19% crystallinity with same chemical identity as SS and better flowability. The in-vitro aerosolization for SSμb shows 37.4% fine particle fraction and 95.1% emitted dose compared to 5.9% and 75.9% respectively for SS as carrier-free formulation. This is attributed to the hollow, porous, spherical particles with low surface charges and comparatively large particle size, surface roughness.
Neetu Varun, Chinmay Ghoroi,
Engineered inhalable micro-balloon shaped drug particles for carrier-free dry powder inhalation (DPI) application,
Powder Technology, 2022, 117705, ISSN 0032-5910,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2022.117705.