title: Solid dispersions, part II: new strategies in manufacturing methods for dissolution rate enhancement of poorly water-soluble drugs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs, when presented in the crystalline state to the gastrointestinal tract, is typically dissolution rate-limited, and according to BCS these drugs belong mainly to class II. Both dissolution kinetics and solubility are particle size dependent. Nowadays, various techniques are available to the pharmaceutical industry for dissolution rate enhancement of such drugs. Among such techniques, nanosuspensions and drug formulation in solid dispersions are those with the highest interest.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review discusses strategies undertaken over the last 10 years, which have been applied for the dissolution enhancement of poorly water-soluble drugs; such processes include melt mixing, electrospinning, microwave irradiation and the use of inorganic nanoparticles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many problems in this field still need to be solved, mainly the use of toxic solvents, and for this reason the use of innovative new procedures and materials will increase over the coming years. Melt mixing remains extremely promising for the preparation of SDs and will probably become the most used method in the future for the preparation of solid drug dispersions.
authors.affiliation: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. dbic@chem.auth.gr
authors.forename: Dimitrios N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Bikiaris
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008872:Microwaves; D053761:Nanocomposites; D053758:Nanoparticles; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers; D012995:Solubility; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water