Drug nanoparticle precipitation by microfluidic droplet generation in flow-focusing devices

Autori

• Thomas Lorenz

Parametri

• Salute & Medicina

Maggiori informazioni sul libro

Many discovered active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) today have poor water solubility, leading to low bioavailability and erratic performance when orally administered. Substances that cannot dissolve in the body are expelled without achieving desired effects. A promising method to address this issue is the precipitation of particles in microfluidic-generated droplets, which can produce highly monodisperse nanoparticles. Reducing particle size increases the specific surface area (SSA), enhancing dissolution rates and bioavailability. This work focused on developing a microfluidic system for emulsifying drug-loaded droplets in an aqueous phase and precipitating nanoparticles. Fenofibrate, a poorly water-soluble API, was used as a model substance. Improvements were made to planar flow-focusing devices made of glass to generate stable micrometer-sized oil-in-water droplets. It was discovered that using an organic solvent as the disperse phase was necessary for effective nanoparticle precipitation. Challenges arose with channel wall wetting due to similar contact angles of the continuous and disperse phases. To overcome this, 3D flow-focusing devices were fabricated from glass using a two-step etching process, enabling stable emulsification of fenofibrate-loaded sub-micron ethyl acetate droplets and subsequent nanoparticle precipitation. The resulting particles were analyzed for shape, internal structure, and stability.

Lingua: Inglese

Pubblicato: 2019