title: NANOPARTICLES. Production of amorphous nanoparticles by supersonic spray-drying with a microfluidic nebulator.
abstract: Amorphous nanoparticles (a-NPs) have physicochemical properties distinctly different from those of the corresponding bulk crystals; for example, their solubility is much higher. However, many materials have a high propensity to crystallize and are difficult to formulate in an amorphous structure without stabilizers. We fabricated a microfluidic nebulator that can produce amorphous NPs from a wide range of materials, even including pure table salt (NaCl). By using supersonic air flow, the nebulator produces drops that are so small that they dry before crystal nuclei can form. The small size of the resulting spray-dried a-NPs limits the probability of crystal nucleation in any given particle during storage. The kinetic stability of the a-NPs—on the order of months—is advantageous for hydrophobic drug molecules.
authors: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Esther
authors: E
authors: Amstad
authors: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors: Manesh
authors: M
authors: Gopinadhan
authors: BASF SE, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Holtze
authors: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors: Chinedum O
authors: CO
authors: Osuji
authors: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors: Michael P
authors: MP
authors: Brenner
authors: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors: Frans
authors: F
authors: Spaepen
authors: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. weitz@seas.harvard.edu.
authors: David A
authors: DA
authors: Weitz