title: Scale-up and optimization of an evaporative drying process applied to aqueous dispersions of solid lipid nanoparticles.
abstract: An apparatus to dry aqueous dispersions of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) was designed. Optimal running conditions were evaluated to obtain minimum process time and produce dried SLNs characterized by small size variation. To achieve process optimization, SLN average diameter, SLNs polydispersity index, and drying time were related to three operative variables: process temperature, SLN concentration in the original aqueous dispersions, and nitrogen flow rate as the physical means of the drying process. An experimental design procedure and a multicriteria optimization method, targeting desirability functions, enabled us to obtain the optimal conditions for all responses. Drying time, average diameter, and polydispersity index of dried SLN batches were more favorable than those obtained by freeze-drying identical SLN aqueous dispersions with the same initial nanoparticle concentration.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Avanzate, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marengo
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cavalli
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rovero
authors.forename: Maria Rosa
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gasco
mesh_terms: D005612:Freeze Drying / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D014867:Water