Towards sustainability : new approaches to nano-drug preparation

• Main Authors: Cheow, Wean Sin, Xu, Rong, Hadinoto, Kunn
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/101907; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19825
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The conversion of drugs into drug nanoparticles (nano-drugs) represents a feasible method to enhance bioavailability of otherwise sparingly soluble-drugs. Nano-drugs enhance bioavailability through the improvement of dissolution rate and saturation solubility of drugs, by virtue of their small sizes. Nano-drugs available in the market are usually produced by top-down methods, such as wet milling and high pressure homogenization. These conventional top-down methods, however, suffer from high energy and time requirement, as well as wide and inconsistent nano-drug size distribution. Furthermore, commercially available nano-drugs are predominantly crystalline while amorphous nano-drugs are largely neglected despite their propensity to generate high saturation solubility. In this review, nonconventional methods to prepare crystalline and amorphous nano-drugs are discussed, with the bioavailability enhancing characteristics highlighted. Both top-down and bottom-up methods are covered, finally, a sustainability-based perspective comparing amorphous and crystalline nano-drugs is presented.