Ammonium bicarbonate as a pore-forming agent for the production of porous inhalable particles

SERAIN, MARCOS ANDRÉS; BUCALÁ, VERÓNICA; GALLO, LOREANA

Córdoba

Congreso; 6ta Reunión Internacional de Ciencias Farmacéuticas (RICiFa 2020+1); 2021

Recently, ammonium bicarbonate (AB) has begun to be used to produce porous particles of drugs (sodium cromoglycate and meloxicam) and excipients (mannitol) for inhalatory administration. AB decomposes in carbon dioxide and ammonia gas at 36 °C producing pores, this temperature is low and can be overcame in spray drying (SD) processes. In the present work, an aqueous solution containing AB and salbutamol sulphate (SS) is used. Solutions of SS and mixtures SS+AB were SD using different ratios: SS:AB = 1:0 (A), 1:0.5 (B), 1:0.125 (C) and 1:0.0625 (D) (the SS content was kept constant). The process yield (PY), moisture content (MC), bulk and tap densities and morphology of the particles were evaluated. All the samples showed high PY (70 %), except sample B ( 15%). The MC values were satisfactory ( 3 %) for all the powders. Samples dried with AB presented densities lower than the SS, suggesting the presence of porous. SS particles showed spherical shape and smooth surface. Instead, samples dried with AB exhibited more irregular shape, rough surface and some pores. In conclusion, AB affects the morphology of the particles in a particular way for each drug. Further investigations should be done to understand the effect of AB on SS drying.