Development of a Novel Continuous Dense Gas Process for the Production of Residual Solvent-Free Self-Assembled Nano-Carriers

Publication date: Available online 2 July 2019Source: Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process IntensificationAuthor(s): Chau Chun Beh, Mee Ging Wong, Victor Olet, Neil FosterAbstractA continuous dense gas process has been developed based on the principles of process intensification. The continuous process is designed for the production of self-assembled nano-carriers for pharmaceutical applications such as liposomes, polymersomes, and micelles. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is being used during the dense gas process. The dense gas CO2 process is regarded as a green technology since the process does not generate CO2 as a product, but uses the existing CO2 from the environment for the process. Removal of residual solvent is a key aspect of pharmaceutical formulation and an effective single-step process to achieve that endpoint has been demonstrated. Ethanol and dichloromethane were investigated as residual organic solvents to be removed by CO2. Dichloromethane was eliminated to a level undetectable by gas chromatography, while ethanol content was reduced down to 1.70 wt % with an extraction efficiency of 95.7 %. The average hydrodynamic diameter of polymersomes produced by the continuous process was 300 ± 10 nm. The present study provides a basic platform for up-scaling the production of self-assembled nano-carriers.Graphical AbstractThe continuous dense gas process for the production of self-assembled nano-carriers

Source: Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification - July 3, 2019 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research