Preparing amorphous hydrophobic drug nanoparticles by nanoporous membrane extrusion

Aim: The aim of the present study was to develop a simple and straightforward method for formulating hydrophobic drugs into nanoparticulate form in a scalable and inexpensive manner. Materials & methods: The nanoporous membrane extrusion (NME) method was used to prepare hydrophobic drug nanoparticles. NME is based on the induced precipitation of drug-loaded nanoparticles at the exits of nanopores. Three common hydrophobic drug models (silymarin, beta-carotene and butylated hydroxytoluene) were tested. The authors carefully investigated the morphology, crystallinity and dissolution profile of the resulting nanoparticles. Results: Using NME, the authors successfully prepared rather uniform drug nanoparticles (similar to 100 nm in diameter). These nanoparticles were amorphous and show an improved dissolution profile compared with untreated drug powders. Conclusion: These studies suggest that NME could be used as a general method to produce nanoparticles of hydrophobic drugs. Original submitted 8 June 2011; Revised submitted 7 May 2012; Published online 3 September 2012