Formulation and comparison of spray dried non-porous and large porous particles containing meloxicam for pulmonary drug delivery

Meloxicam is an anti-inflammatory drug that could be interesting to deliver locally to the lungs to treat inflammation occurring in cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Spray drying conditions were optimized to prepare inhalable dry powders, from meloxicam aqueous solution with pH adjustment. A comparison study between non-porous and large porous particles (LPPs) was carried out to demonstrate the relevance of the aimed large size ( > 5 mu m) and low density (< 0.2 mg/cm(3)) formulations. With the appropriate amount of porogen agent, ammonium bicarbonate, LPPs exhibited the same aerodynamic diameter and a higher deposited fraction than smaller but dense particles. The aerodynamic evaluation of LPPs showed that the fine particle fraction (FPF) reached up to 65.8%, while the emitted fraction (EF) reached 85.4%, both higher than for the non-porous particles. Stability tests demonstrated that, after 10 weeks of storage, no significant difference could be detected in the aerodynamic behaviour of the formulations. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time large porous particles, with enhanced aerodynamic properties, from an aqueous solution of meloxicam are reported.