MICROPARTICLES PREPARED IN SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS AS INHALABLE DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

摘要

Pharmaceutical processing and products are a major new area in the field of supercritical fluid technology. The inter-disciplinary co-operation of LACDR and FeyeCon initiates a genera! platform in the field of pharmaceutical particle formation technology using supercritical fluids. The aim of the present project is the development of a process for the production of chitosan particles (<5 μm) with encapsulated active compounds, which are suitable for pulmonary administration. The chitosan acts as a carrier for the active compounds, as well as a compound that mediates the enhancement of absorption at epithelial surfaces. The particles are produced by expanding a chitosan/organic solvent mixture in a supercritical carbon dioxide environment. The carbon dioxide acts as an anti-solvent. This is the so-called Solvent/Anti-Solvent (SAS) technology. Chitosan and active compounds are produced at LACDR. The pharmacokinetic properties of the produced particles are studied at LACDR. We envision the final product to be a dry chitosan microparticle formulation at a narrow particle size range. The inclusion or loading of macromolecular compounds into the microparticles during a one-step synthesis, avoiding further processing such as freeze-drying.