Electrospraying, spray drying and related techniques for production and formulation of drug nanoparticles.

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD: Spray drying and electrospraying are two widely used liquid atomization-based techniques for production and formulation of drug nanoparticles. The importance of spray drying in particular has increased lately in the production of nanostructured microparticles. The value of the particles is that they maintain the properties of individual nanoparticles but they are micrometer sized. AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW: In this review the most important liquid atomization techniques, spray drying and electrospraying, are presented in detail, and a short introduction is presented for other methods, including the aerosol flow reactor method and spray congealing. WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN: A description of the possible tailoring processes depending on the technique and process parameters. Different product properties can be achieved; for example, nanosuspensions or dry powder formulations may be produced. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The most important advantage of these techniques as compared with many other particle formation techniques is that the production of dried powders is possible without any extra drying step.