Malvern Instruments’ Spraytec is used by Nektar Therapeutics to test dry powder inhaler formulations

Researchers at Nektar Therapeutics in the UK have used a Malvern Instruments’ laser diffraction-based Spraytec particle size analyzer to test dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations. They have shown that drug particles produced using Nektar’s Supercritical Fluid (SCF) crystallization process disperse more effectively than micronized particles. This opens the way for improved dose uniformity and better targeting of the correct deposition site of the drug within the respiratory tract. The work has also shown that laser diffraction is a valuable tool in the rapid prototyping of new formulations in the pharmaceuticals industry.

Nektar is a drug delivery company with headquarters in the US whose portfolio of technologies is used to develop improved drug products.

The Spraytec system was used in combination with cascade impaction, the pharmaceutical industry’s traditional method for particle size analysis in aerosols. Cascade impaction gives information about particle size, but not about the dynamics of aerosol formation. Combining the two techniques gives valuable additional data, for example on how the excipient and drug particles interact during inhalation.

Using the Malvern Spraytec it took just one day to obtain particle size distributions for a range of formulations, allowing researchers to rapidly screen samples for the correct dispersive properties. Those formulations that showed good dispersion were then selected for further characterization.

Malvern’s Spraytec uses laser diffraction to rapidly measure particle size distributions. This technique uses the principle that particles of different sizes will scatter light from a laser beam at an angle that is inversely proportional to their size. Data acquisition speeds of up to 2500Hz allow the dynamics of each actuation of an inhaler to be followed, with much faster result reporting and manipulation when compared with cascade impaction. Inline measurements with cascade impaction allow correlations between the two techniques to be easily established.

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