Physico-chemical characterisation of surface modified particles for inhalation.

Surface modification of drugs for inhalation is a possibility to influence interparticulate forces. This can be necessary to achieve a sufficient aerosolisation during powder inhalation as the cohesiveness of the micronised drug can be reduced. In addition, the interaction with propellants in pressurised metered dose inhaler can be changed. This can be used to improve the physical stability of the suspension based formulations. A dry particle coating process was used for the alteration of particle surfaces. The blending of micronised salbutamol sulphate (SBS) with different concentrations of magnesium stearate (Mgst) or glycerol monostearate (GMS) was followed by co-milling with an air jet mill. The powder properties were characterised by SEM, EDX, laser diffraction, BET and inverse gas chromatography. Physical mixtures generated by Turbula blending were compared to co-milled samples. A slight particle size reduction was determined. The Mgst deposition on SBS particles was detected by EDX measurements. The dispersive surface energy of SBS is lowered and the energy distribution is more homogenous for the co-milled samples. This study proves the application of co-milling for surface modification in the inhalation area.