Micronization of silybin by the emulsion solvent diffusion method

Micronized silybin particles were successfully prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion method. Uniform spherical and rod-shaped particles with a mean size of 2.48 and 0.89 μm could be obtained using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration of 0.1 wt% at 30 and 15 °C, respectively. The characterization of silybin particles by SEM and particle size distribution (PSD) indicated that with the increase of temperature from 15 to 30 °C, the as-prepared particles became bigger and had a tendency to turn into spherical shapes; with the increase of SDS concentration from 0.02 to 0.1 wt%, the span of PSD became narrower while the mean particle size kept almost unchanged. XRD patterns and FT-IR spectra showed that the spherical and rod-shaped silybin particles possessed decreased crystallinity; however, the chemical structure and components were similar to those of the commercial silybin powder. Dissolution tests demonstrated that both of the spherical and rod-shaped silybin particles exhibited significantly enhanced dissolution rate when compared to the commercial silybin powder.