Process development for spray drying of sticky pharmaceuticals; case study of bioadhesive nicotine microparticles for compressed medicated chewing gum

• Spray drying of nicotine bitartrate and polymers in aqueous solution was studied.
• Single droplet drying kinetics was tested initially for optimal feed composition.
• Micron sized particles with high encapsulation efficiencies were prepared.
• Encapsulation in polymer matrix did not affect in vitro drug release.

Spray drying of pharmaceutical compounds with sticky properties is a challenging task and may require substantial time and resources. By including small-scale studies of single droplet drying kinetics a relatively high number of experiments with less material is allowed. This means one can construct a more robust design space according to Quality by Design (QbD) formulation development principles. In the current study we present a case study on the development of spray dried microparticles comprising nicotine bitartrate and hypromellose or alginate polymer, for incorporation into medicated chewing gum. By illustration of initial studies on single droplet drying kinetics, subsequent characterization of microparticles, and final characterization of compressed chewing gum this paper summarizes the entire development process.

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