Novel Particulate Fluidization Systems for Pulmonary Drug Delivery Applications

This Small Business Innovation Research project proposes to develop novel fluidization systems that are needed for synthesis of nano-encapsulated insulin particles for pulmonary drug delivery applications. By coating the insulin particle with very thin (10-50 nm) layer of biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), the sustained release characteristics of insulin can be significantly altered. The unique method has several advantages over conventional methods including low polymer loading, and impurity-free processing. The nano-encapsulation method involves using laser ablation thin film deposition technique to coat drug particles which are fluidized in the gas phase. This Phase I project will develop batch scale fluidization systems which are capable of fluidizing up to 1 kg of particles at a time. The commercial applications of this project are in the area of pharmaceutical drug delivery.