This work focuses on the development of a spray dried adenoviral vector for its application as a thermally stable and inhalable vaccine against tuberculosis. / As the global public health community continues to strive for more equitable vaccine access, thermal instability of liquid vaccines continues to be a significant challenge due to strict cold-chain temperature requirements. Dry powder vaccines offer a favourable alternative, with the ability to retain vaccine efficacy at ambient temperature conditions. In the form of dry powder, vaccines against respiratory diseases can also be administered via inhalation for targeted delivery to the lung tissue. A processing technique known as spray drying is particularly promising for the development of thermally stable and inhalable dry powder vaccines, offering a method of continuous and scalable production. Spray drying is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and can effectively encapsulate and immobilize labile biologics, like adenoviral vectors, within a glassy carbohydrate matrix to help retain biologic function. However, pulmonary delivery of a thermally stable, viral vectored dry powder vaccine has yet to be demonstrated. This thesis focuses on improving the formulation of a carbohydrate excipient blend of mannitol and dextran encapsulating a human serotype 5 adenovirus (AdHu5), with the goal of producing an inhalable vaccine with sufficient viral potency for in vivo murine testing. First, the impact of cryoprotective agents used for frozen storage of the stock adenovirus was investigated with respect to viral activity retention, thermal stability and inhalation properties of the dry powder after spray drying. Trehalose was considered a preferred cryoprotective agent, compared to glycerol traditionally used for adenoviral cryo-storage, allowing for the preparation of a high potency viral dry powder with 1.5 log loss of viral titre after processing and thermal aging. Further investigation of the dextran mass ratio and dextran molecular weight used within the excipient blend revealed that incorporating mannitol in a 1:3 ratio with 500 kDa dextran can further improve viral activity to achieve 0.8 log loss of viral titre after aging. Through controlled drying dynamics, this formulation led to improved activity retention and thermal stability, in addition to desirable aerosolization properties for pulmonary delivery. Using this optimized formulation, custom-made intratracheal dosator devices were evaluated for pulmonary powder delivery in mice. The method of powder loading in the device was found to be a significant factor of device performance in vivo when determining if the critical powder mass dosage could be delivered. Successful intratracheal delivery of the AdHu5-vectored dry powder was achieved with a pipette-tip loading dosator and led to a strong bioactive response. Overall, this work indicates the feasibility of murine pulmonary delivery and immunological testing of a thermally stable, adenoviral-vectored vaccine in dry powder form. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Most vaccines currently available on the market must be stored and transported at temperatures ranging from 2-8 ⁰C to properly maintain their function, with some vaccine requiring temperatures as low as -80 ⁰C. The equipment required to maintain such temperatures is costly and is a significant limitation for developing nations trying to secure vaccine access. As an alternative to traditional liquid vaccine formulations, dry powder vaccines offer stability at room temperature without the need for expensive equipment and can also be administered through inhalation. Using a processing method called spray drying, an active vaccine component can be encapsulated in a carefully selected sugar formulation which forms a protective coating as the particles dry to provide stabilization. Since the efficacy of such dry powder vaccines must be first evaluated with mouse models, the focus of this work was to improve an existing blend of sugars to produce a dry vaccine powder that contains high enough dosage for mouse testing. Processing losses from spray drying were minimized through careful selection of vaccine cryoprotective agents, in addition to optimizing the blend ratio and molecular weight of sugars used for encapsulation. Successful delivery of the optimized powder to the lungs of mice was also accomplished after analyzing the suitability of a variety of custom-made handheld devices. This work shows that inhalable dry powder vaccine delivery is a promising solution to help improve temperature stability and achieve more equitable access to vaccines globally.

No description available.

Crystal engineering study using spray dryer was performed for scale-up and rapid, continuous crystallisation of co-crystals from solution. The study emphasise on developing co-crystals of two structurally similar compounds, caffeine (CAF) and theophylline (THEO) with various di-carboxylic acids. The incongruently soluble pair of CAF and THEO with di-carboxylic acids acquires large solubility difference which is important to consider for its utility in product development. Based on previous assumption that maleic acid (MAL) elevates CAF’s solubility; solubility of the two similar compounds was tested in various dicarboxylic acids. Other solubility enhancement strategies such as introduction of surfactant and binary solvents were also scrutinised. A kinetically similar bench-scale technique, rotary evaporator (rotavap) was investigated as a pre-screening tool for the production of co-crystals via spray drying. Furthermore, various process parameters within the spray dryer were optimised to control the kinetic conditions which influence co-crystallisation and quality of the product. Another polymorphic co-crystal pair, CBZ (carbamazepine) and SAC (saccharin) was examined in various solvents and its degradation was evaluated over a period of few months. In this study, a two-step conversion of CBZ into its degradate was hypothesised. Rotavap delivered a true reflection of co-crystal favoured via spray drying apart from co-crystal pairs depicting polymorphism. Spray dryer offered a unique environment favouring metastable forms of co-crystals irrespective of the starting component stoichiometry; generating CAF:MAL 2:1. However, due to process limitation and solubility constraint, the impurity of CAF in CAF:MAL 2:1 co-crystals could not be abolished.

Yes / Herein the potential of a relatively new water soluble fiber, resistant maltodextrin (RMD) to encapsulate grapefruit polyphenol, naringin, using spray drying was evaluated. Full factorial Design Of Experiments (DOE) for spray drying with two levels of fiber–naringin ratio and spray dryer inlet temperature was executed. Resulting powders were characterized with respect to particle size and morphology, crystallinity, thermal properties, moisture sorption and naringin aqueous solubility increase. A 60–80% encapsulation was achieved. Thermal and moisture sorption behaviors of these dispersions were found to be dominated by RMD. By varying fiber–naringin ratio and spray drying temperatures, naringin was able to disperse in amorphous form in RMD matrix, which led to 20–55% increase in aqueous solubility. Solubility enhancement was found to correlate positively with increasing fiber: naringin ratio and spray drying temperature due to multiple factors discussed in this study. In conclusion, fiber–polyphenol bicomponent nutraceutical was successfully developed based on a well-established encapsulation technology i.e. spray-drying.

Yes / Polymorphism of crystalline drugs is a common phenomenon. However, the number of reported polymorphic cocrystals is very limited. In this work, the synthesis and solid state characterisation of a polymorphic cocrystal composed of sulfadimidine (SD) and 4- aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA) is reported for the first time. By liquid-assisted milling, the SD:4-ASA 1:1 form I cocrystal, the structure of which has been previously reported, was formed. By spray drying, a new polymorphic form (form II) of the SD:4-ASA 1:1 cocrystal was discovered which could also be obtained by solvent evaporation from ethanol and acetone. Structure determination of the form II cocrystal was calculated using high resolution X-ray powder diffraction. The solubility of the SD:4-ASA 1:1 cocrystal was dependent on the pH and predicted by a model established for a two amphoteric component cocrystal. The form I cocrystal was found to be thermodynamically more stable in aqueous solution than form II, which showed transformation to form I. Dissolution studies revealed that the dissolution rate of SD from both cocrystals was enhanced when compared to a physical equimolar mixture and pure SD. / Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant Number 07/SRC/B1158 and SFI/12/RC/2275.

Yes / Objectives This work investigated the impact of spray drying variables such as feedconcentration, solvent composition and the drying mode, on the micromeriticproperties of chlorothiazide sodium (CTZNa) and chlorothiazide potassium(CTZK).Methods Microparticles were prepared by spray drying and characterised usingthermal analysis, helium pycnometry, laser diffraction, specific surface area analysisand scanning electron microscopy.Key findings Microparticles produced under different process conditions pre-sented several types of morphology.To systematise the description of morphology ofmicroparticles, a novel morphology classification system was introduced. The shapeof the microparticles was described as spherical (1) or irregular (2) and the surfacewas classified as smooth (A) or crumpled (B). Three classes of morphology of micro-particles were discerned visually: class I, non-porous; classes II and III, comprisingdiffering types of porosity characteristics. The interior was categorised as solid/continuous (a), hollow (b), unknown (g) and hollow with microparticulate content(d). Nanoporous microparticles of CTZNa and CTZK, produced without recircula-tion of the drying gas, had the largest specific surface area of 72.3 and 90.2 m2/g,respectively, and presented morphology of class 1BIIIa.Conclusions Alteration of spray drying process variables, particularly solvent com-position and feed concentration can have a significant effect on the morphology ofspray dried microparticulate products. Morphology of spray dried particles may beusefully described using the morphology classification system. / The Irish Research Council for Science and Engineering Technology (IRCSET), the Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (SSPC), supported by Science Foundation Ireland under grant number [07/SRC/B1158] and the Irish Drug Delivery Research Network, a Strategic Research Cluster grant (07/SRC/B1154) under the National Development Plan co-funded by EU Structural Funds and Science Foundation Ireland.

Yes / High-dose API powders which are to be tableted by direct compression should have high compactibility and compressibility. This note reports on a novel approach to the manufacture of crystalline powders intended for direct compaction with improved compactibility and compressibility properties. The poorly compactable API, chlorothiazide, was spray dried from a water/acetone solvent mix producing additive-free nanocrystalline microparticles (NCMPs) of median particle size 3.5 μm. Tablets compacted from NCMPs had tensile strengths ranging from 0.5 to 4.6 MPa (compared to 0.6–0.9 MPa for tablets of micronised CTZ) at compression forces ranging from 6 kN to 13 kN. NCMP tablets also had high porosities (34–20%) and large specific surface areas (4.4–4.8 m2/g). The time taken for tablets made of NCMPs to erode was not statistically longer (p > 0.05) than for tablets made of micronised CTZ. Fragmentation of NCMPs on compression was observed. The volume fraction of particles below 1 μm present in the suspension recovered after erosion of NCMP tablets was 34.8 ± 3.43%, while no nanosized particles were detected in the slurry after erosion of compacted micronised CTZ. / Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (SSPC), supported by Science Foundation Ireland under grant number 07/SRC/B1158.

The process of spray drying consists of dispersing a liquid to be dried into a hot desiccating medium. This operation is carried out in a chamber where the process is completed, and from which the dried product is removed. Due to the tremendous surface area of the dispersed particles and intimate contact of the particles with the drying medium, the drying time is reduced to a minimum These facts along with the fact that the particle is not heated above the wet bulb temperature of the drying medium, make the process particularly adaptable to drying heat sensitive materials. Although, the theory for spray drying is similar to that for other drying processes, it is complicated by the aerodynamics of small particles suspended in a turbulent medium. Neither quantitative data nor mathematical relationships are available in the literature which would enable spray drying equipment to be designed on the basis of calculated drying rates. A study of the numerous variables encountered in drying materials by this process should be very helpful for future design work. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how variable factors such as condition of feed, atomizing variables, and chamber conditions affected the moisture content, bulk density, and particle size of a spray dried material. These variables were studied in a unit constructed at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute according to plans based on available information, and cut and try experimental work. Sodium sulphate was dried in this unit with the concentration, temperature and pressure of the feed; temperature and pressure of the atomizing air; and temperature of the drying air varied from an arbitrary set of operating conditions. The product from these runs was analyzed for its moisture content, bulk density, and particle size. The results of these analysis indicated that the concentration of the feed was the most significant variable tested. A variation of 25 to 200 per cent saturation at room temperature reduced the specific surface from 24.04 to 20.00, reduced the bulk density from 2.5 to 2.2 grams per cc and also reduced the moisture content from 1.16 to 0.55 per cent. Increasing the temperature of the atomizing air from 75 to 200° F and temperature of the atomizing air from 95 to 200° F was found to have almost no effect on the variables tested. Varying the atomizing air pressure from 8 to 26 pounds per sq. in. reduced the moisture content from 0.58 to 0.47 per cent and increased the bulk density of the product from 2.2 to 2.4 grams per cc without any definite trend in specific surface. The bulk density was decreased from 2.5 to 2.5 grams per cc when the temperature of the chamber air was increased from 150 to 236° F. Variation in the specific surface factor indicated that the particle size increased and the moisture content remained constant for this run. / Master of Science

O camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia Mc. Vaugh) tem demonstrado ser um fruto promissor devido ao potencial funcional, principalmente pelo alto teor de vitamina C e compostos fenólicos, em especial elagitaninos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos sobre os compostos fenólicos dos processos de secagem de polpa comercial de camu-camu, por leito de jorro e atomização (spray-drying), em diferentes temperaturas e concentrações de agentes carreadores, comparando-os com os do processo de liofilização. Os pós obtidos foram comparados em relação ao teor total de compostos fenólicos, ácido ascórbico e proantocianidinas. Além disso, avaliou-se o potencial benéfico à saúde através da determinação da capacidade antioxidante in vitro , atividade antimicrobiana e inibição das enzimas α-amilase, α-glicosidase e enzima conversora da angiotensina (ECA). Avaliou-se também proteção e regeneração celulares em modelo de planárias (Dugesia trigrina). Complementarmente, os pós de camu-camu foram adicionados em leite de soja, que foram fermentados com bactérias produtoras de ácido láctico (L. helveticus ATCC 12046 e L. plantarum NCDO 1193), para verificar sua funcionalidade quando incorporados como ingredientes em alimentos funcionais. Os resultados mostraram que a secagem da polpa acarretou em perdas significativas de compostos bioativos, na ordem ácido ascórbico>fenólicos totais> proantocianidinas, e spray-drying>leito de jorro>liofilização. Os compostos fenólicos detectados nos pós de camu-camu foram elagitaninos, ácido elágico, derivados de quercetina, ácido siríngico e miricetina, por LC-TOF-MS. A liofilização foi a melhor técnica de secagem para a preservação dos compostos fenólicos, e também da capacidade antioxidante e de inibição enzimática. Além disso, os pós liofilizados e atomizado (contendo 6% goma arábica a 120 °C) foram mais efetivos contra Staphylococcus aureus que a ampicilina. Os extratos desses pós demostraram potencial para proteção celular e rejuvenescimento no modelo de planárias. E por último, o leite de soja enriquecido com o pó de camu-camu resultou em um produto com maior teor de fenólicos, alta capacidade antioxidante e propriedades anti-hiperglicêmica e anti-hipertensiva. Portanto, os pós de camu-camu são ricos em compostos fenólicos e tem potencial para serem acrescentados como ingredientes em alimentos para o controle dos estágios iniciais de diabetes tipo 2 e complicações associadas. / Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia Mc. Vaugh) has demonstrated promising perspectives as a functional food, mainly due to high vitamin C and phenolic compounds contents, in particular ellagitannins. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different drying processes (spouted bed drying, spray-drying) at selected temperatures and carrier concentrations, comparing to freeze-drying, on the contents and composition of phenolic compounds. The pulp powders were compared in relation to phenolic profiles, ascorbic acid and proanthocyanidins contents. Further, functional health potential was evaluated such as in vitro antioxidant capacity, antimicrobial activity and inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). It was also investigated cellular protection and regeneration in planaria (Dugesia trigrina) model. Additionally, camu-camu powders were added into soymilk and were fermented by lactic acid bacteria (L. helveticus ATCC 12046 and L. plantarum NCDO 1193) to verify their functionality as a functional food ingredient. The results showed that drying of the pulp led to significant losses of bioactive compounds, in the order ascorbic acid>total phenolics>proanthocyanidins, and spray-drying>spouted bed drying>freeze-drying. Phenolic compounds, such as ellagitannins, ellagic acid, quercetin derivatives, syringic acid and myricetin were detected in camu-camu by LC-TOF-MS. The freeze-drying was the best technique to preserve phenolic compounds, and also antioxidant capacity and enzyme inhibition. Besides that, freeze-dried and spray-dried (6% arabic gum at 120 °C) powders were more effective against Staphylococcus aureus than ampicillin. The extracts of those powders have desmonstrated potential to cellular protection and rejuvenation in planaria model. Finally, soymilk enriched with camu-camu powders resulted in more phenolic contents, high antioxidant capacity and anti-hyperglycemia and anti-hipertension properties product. To sum up, camu-camu powder is rich in phenolic bioactive profiles has potential as part of dietary strategies in the management of early stages of type 2 diabetes and associated complications.

O dengue e o dengue hemorrágico são considerados como as arboviroses mais importantes do ponto de vista da saúde pública além de serem também as mais disseminadas. O greening ou huanglongbing (HLB), por sua vez, é uma doença de difícil controle e rápida disseminação que afeta seriamente a produção de citros no mundo todo. É considerada a pior doença de citros da atualidade pois não tem cura e leva ao declínio e morte das árvores em alguns anos. O DMDS é um composto sulfúrico volátil derivado de plantas e que tem despertado um crescente interesse devido a sua comprovada atividade repelente e inseticida além de ação nematicida e disinfectante do solo. Visando oferecer uma alternativa para o controle de ambas as doenças, este trabalho teve como objetivo desenvolver um método de microencapsulação por spray drying e spray congealing para o dimetil dissulfeto (DMDS), visando a redução da sua volatilidade através de uma liberação controlada para o ambiente. Dessa forma, tornar-se-ia viável sua utilização como repelente, larvicida e inseticida no combate ao vetor do dengue além da sua utilização como repelente no controle do greening nas lavouras de citrus. Tentou-se a microencapsulação através de spray congealing utilizando enxofre como microencapsulante mas não se obteve sucesso devido as características térmicas do enxofre. Foram obtidas micropartículas de DMDS microencapsulado em goma arábica através da técnica de spray drying. As micropartículas e o processo de secagem foram caracterizados com relação ao rendimento de secagem, rendimento de microencapsulação, morfologia, teor de água residual, atividade de água, densidades aparente e compactada e propriedades de fluxo. Confirmou-se a possibilidade de microencapsulação de DMDS por spray drying e eficiência da goma arábica na retenção do mesmo. As partículas obtidas apresentaram boas propriedades de atividade de água, teor de água residual e densidade mas propriedades de fluxo que requerem melhoria. Foi feito também um estudo simplificado da viabilidade técnico-econômica da implantação de uma unidade de produção de DMDS microencapsulado. Esse estudo foi baseado no processo de microencapsulação estudado. Foram analisados diversos parâmetros econômicos e através destas análises verificou-se que a produção de DMDS microencapsulado pelo método utilizado seria economicamente viável. / Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever are not only considered the most important arboviruses from public health standpoint but also the most disseminated ones. Greening or huanglongbing (HLB) is a citrus disease of difficult control and fast dissemination that affects citrus production all over the world. It is considered the worst citrus disease nowadays since it does not have a cure and it causes the decline and death of the trees in a few years. Dimethyl disulfide is a volatile sulphur compound derived from plants and that has aroused growing interest due to its proved repellence and insecticidal activity, soil disinfection and nematocidal properties. Therefore, this work aimed at developing a DMDS microencapsulation method via spray drying and spray congealing in order to decrease DMDS\' volatility through a controlled release to the environment and offer a control alternative to both diseases. This would make DMDS use as a repellent, larvicide and insecticide of dengue fever\'s vector and also its use in greening control as a repellent viable. We tried to microencapsulate the DMDS through spray congealing using sulfur as a microenpsulating agent but it was unsuccessful due to the thermal characteristics of sulfur. DMDS was microencapsulated in Arabic gum through spray drying. Drying yield, microencapsulation yield, morphology of the particles, residual water percentage, water activity, bulk and tapped density and flow properties were used to characterize the microparticles and the drying process. Feasibility of DMDS microencapsulation and Arabic gum efficiency in DMDS retention were confirmed. The microparticles presented good bulk and tapped density, residual water percentage and water activity properties though its flow properties requiring further improvement. A simplified technical-economical evaluation of a DMDS microencapsulation factory was also done. This evaluation was based on the studied microencapsulation process. Many economical parameters were analysed and those analyses showed that DMDS microparticles production using the studied method would be economically viable.