(T1330-09-50) Exploratory Studies of Curcumin Loaded PCL Microparticles Produced Using a Novel Technology- SMART

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and explore the possibilities of extrusion-based printing of Curcumin loaded PCl particles, using a novel technology SMART (Sprayed Multi Adsorbent-droplet Reposing technology). The aim was to at studying the effects of printing parameters on particle size and PDI on the PCL-Curcumin particles. SMART is a novel technology that combines both extrusion-based printing with emulsion evaporation technique to fabricate small molecule drugs. SMART also employs shear force that is exerted by the printing nozzle rather using a sonication energy to generate smaller emulsion droplets in a single step. This helps formulating drugs which are thermal sensitive without having to subject them to high mechanical stress during the formulation process. Furthermore, the applied shear force during the printing process is controllable since the emulsion is extruded through the nozzle under preset printing conditions.

Methods: Independent variables like printing speeds and pressures, and nozzle diameter were tested out to optimize the process parameters. A 4x3 factorial design was made with the help of JMP software to establish a relationship between the response variable i.e. Particle size and PDI. The preparation of PCL loaded curcumin particles involved spraying of Solution A (PCL and curcumin) onto Solution B (0.5%PVA solution) using Bio X. The obtained solutions were then lyophilized for 72 hours and were tested out for particle size, encapsulation efficiency and % yield for all formulations.

Results: By using DoE, it was evident that both the printing pressure and the needle diameter had a major impact on the PS and PDI. Higher gauze diameter (0.52nm) with a high pressure (500Kpa and 600Kpa) were giving better PS and PDI of 872 ±105.1 to 1020 ±195.9 and 0.856 to 0.62 respectively. The formulations made with the above parameters produced a good % yield of 65% for F1 and 76.75% for F2. Whereas the encapsulation efficiency for F1 was found to be 43.9% and F3 had an encapsulation efficiency of 55%.

Conclusion: The study successfully demonstrated the potential of the SMART (Sprayed Multi Adsorbent-droplet Reposing Technology) for developing Curcumin loaded PCL particles using extrusion-based printing. Key findings indicated that printing pressure and nozzle diameter significantly influenced particle size (PS) and polydispersity index (PDI). Optimal conditions were identified as a higher gauge diameter (0.52nm) combined with high pressures (500Kpa and 600Kpa), resulting in favorable PS and PDI values. Furthermore, these conditions yielded satisfactory encapsulation efficiencies and overall yields. The results highlight the capability of SMART technology to efficiently produce thermally sensitive drug formulations, minimizing mechanical stress and ensuring controlled particle characteristics.

Table.1. Particle size, PDI and ZP for various placebos during process optimization

Table.2. Formulation composition

Table.3. Characteristic analysis data of formulation