Pharmaceutical Drying Technology
Pharmaceutical Drying Technology
Richard Taylor & Suling Zhai
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, UK
Overview
Dry pharmaceutical formulations are required for a number of exciting emerging drug delivery technologies. These new devices which enable the needle free entry of drugs to the blood stream via inhalable and transdermal routes require drugs prepared as high performance particulate dry powders.
The distribution of drugs in a freeze dried form, in vials, is very well established pharmaceutical practice. Our work is focused on understanding the biochemical and physical mechanisms underlying the drying process and the effect of drying on biological entities. Despite the importance of drying technology to current, and future pharmaceutical practice, the mechanisms underlying both the drying process and stability of biological entities have not been fully characterised. We apply the knowledge we gain to the design of novel processes and formulations.
Freeze dried vaccines that could be transported around the world without the need for refrigeration were crucial to the eradication of smallpox, confining images such as the one shown here to history. Building on their successful past, dried formulations have a promising future in an expanding variety of pharmaceutical applications.
Complete article is available online.
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