Microparticles

Microparticles are defined as particles with a size ranging from 1 pm to 1 mm, and whose main component is a polymer, natural or synthetic. 

Most often they are used to stabilize the active ingredient, rnitiitriize its toxicity, modify its release, and improve its efficacy. In pharmacy, they can be administered by the oral route, but also by the parenteral route where they constitute a depot system allowing a prolonged release of the drug. 

Name(s) acrylic microbeads, VAc/VC copolymer microspheres, silicone crosslinked spherical particles, polymethylsilsesquioxane 

Chemical formula wide range of chemical structures Chemical functionality mostly inert 

Density, g/cm 1.32 (spherical silicone), 0.977 (UHMW silicone) 0.03-0.13 (expanded) 

Moisture content, % traces (spherical silicone) 1-2 (other than silicone) 

Particle shape spherical (silicone) pSfi OTSc /g S n c Uicone)  

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Fig. 6. Concentration profiles through an idealized biporous adsorbent particle showing some of the possible regimes. (1) + (a) rapid mass transfer, equihbrium throughout particle (1) + (b) micropore diffusion control with no significant macropore or external resistance (1) + (c) controlling resistance at the surface of the microparticles (2) + (a) macropore diffusion control with some external resistance and no resistance within the microparticle (2) + (b) all three resistances (micropore, macropore, and film) significant (2) + (c) diffusional resistance within the macroparticle and resistance at the surface of the...

Starch is a polysaccharide found in many plant species. Com and potatoes are two common sources of industrial starch. The composition of starch varies somewhat in terms of the amount of branching of the polymer chains (11). Its principal use as a flocculant is in the Bayer process for extracting aluminum from bauxite ore. The digestion of bauxite in sodium hydroxide solution produces a suspension of finely divided iron minerals and siUcates, called red mud, in a highly alkaline Hquor. Starch is used to settle the red mud so that relatively pure alumina can be produced from the clarified Hquor. It has been largely replaced by acryHc acid and acrylamide-based (11,12) polymers, although a number of plants stiH add some starch in addition to synthetic polymers to reduce the level of residual suspended soHds in the Hquor. Starch [9005-25-8] can be modified with various reagents to produce semisynthetic polymers. The principal one of these is cationic starch, which is used as a retention aid in paper production as a component of a dual system (13,14) or a microparticle system (15). 

Technologies to purify cells from white cell concentrates are in the research stage. Principles used include antibodies covalently bound to a surface, antibody-coated microbeads in a column, magnetic microparticles that have been coated with antibodies, and hoUow fibers that have been coated with antibodies. 

Fig. 9. Schematic representation of a catalyst for ethylene oxide synthesis (not to scale). The porous support particle consists of microparticles held together...

Binders. To create needed physical strength in catalysts, materials called binders are added (51) they bond the catalyst. A common binder material is a clay mineral such as kaolinite. The clay is added to the mixture of microparticles as they are formed into the desired particle shape, for example, by extmsion. Then the support is heated to remove water and possibly burnout material and then subjected to a high temperature, possibly 1500°C, to cause vitrification of the clay this is a conversion of the clay into a glasslike form that spreads over the microparticles of the support and binds them together. 

Zeolites and Catalytic Cracking. The best-understood metal oxide catalysts are zeoHtes, ie, crystalline aluminosihcates (77—79). The zeoHtes are well understood because they have much more nearly uniform compositions and stmctures than amorphous metal oxides such as siUca and alumina. Here the usage of amorphous refers to results of x-ray diffraction experiments the crystaUites of a metal oxide such as y-Al202 that constitute the microparticles are usually so small that sharp x-ray diffraction patterns are not measured consequendy the soHds are said to be x-ray amorphous or simply amorphous. 

FIELDFLOW FRACTIONATION OF MICROPARTICLES USING ROTATING COILED COLUMNS... 

In principle, there is no upper bound in measurements of particle velocity (or stress) using laser velocity interferometry. In practice, very high-pressure shock fronts can cause copious jetting of microparticles from the free surface (Asay et al., 1976), obscuring the surface from the laser beam. To alleviate this, optically transparent materials can be bonded to the specimen, and particle velocity measurements are then made at the specimen/window interface. This has the added advantage of simulating in situ particle velocity... 

Infrared microscopes can focus the beam down to a 20-pm spot size for microprobing in either the transmission or reflection mode. Trace analysis, microparticle analysis, and spatial profiling can be performed routinely. 

As mentioned earlier, the contact-mechanics-based experimental studies of interfacial adhesion primarily include (1) direct measurements of surface and interfacial energies of polymers and self-assembled monolayers (2) quantitative studies on the role of interfacial coupling agents in the adhesion of elastomers (3) adhesion of microparticles on surfaces and (4) adhesion of viscoelastic polymer particles. In these studies, a variety of experimental tools have been employed by different researchers. Each one of these tools offers certain advantages over the others. These experimental studies are reviewed in Section 4. 

Microparticulate Systems - Although dual combination treatment systems comprising microparticles and flocculants have been used in the paper industry since the 1980s, it is only recently that there has been a general trend for paper mills to switch from conventional single component systems to dual systems. 

Polymers are suspended as microparticles in the latex and interactions between these microparticles are prevented by the presence of adsorbed suspending agent and soap molecules. Blending results in a random suspension of dissimilar particles in the mixture of latexes, each unaffected by the other. Rate of flocculation depends entirely on the stabilizer and not on the polymer characteristics as such. Coagulated mass contains an intimate mixture of the polymers. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymers [23-25] may be prepared by this method. 

New types of ion exchange resins have also been developed to meet the specific needs of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Chapter 8). These include pellicular resins and microparticle packings (e.g. the Aminex-type resins produced by Bio-Rad). A review of the care, use and application of the various ion exchange packings available for HPLC is given in Ref. 19. 

The materials originally used as stationary phases for GPC were the xerogels of the polyacrylamide (Bio-Gel) and cross-linked dextran (Sephadex) type. However, these semi-rigid gels are unable to withstand the high pressures used in HPLC, and modern stationary phases consist of microparticles of styrene-divinylbenzene copolymers (Ultrastyragel, manufactured by Waters Associates), silica, or porous glass. 

Preliminary biological tests showed the compatibility of Im Hb with blood and the theoretical possibility of intravenous injection and functioning in the organism. The use of microparticles of Im Hb with a covalently bonded marker permitted the determination of the time of microparticle circulation in the blood channel of rats. After 7 h. of observation, up to 30% of the introduced amount of Im Hb was retained in the blood of the animals. 

Chitosan microparticles were prepared with tripolyphosphate by ionic cross-hnking, starting from chitosan acetate 1% and oil as an emulsion in the presence of the surfactant Tween-80 2% the o/w 1 10 emulsion was introduced into tripolyphosphate solution by a spray gun. The microparticles were then washed their sizes were in the 500-710 jim range. As the pH of tripolyphosphate solution decreased and the molecular weight of chitosan increased, the microparticles had a more spherical shape and smoother surface [98]. 

Similar films are obtained from powdered molecular sieves loaded with organic molecules Zeolite Y microparticles embedded into a polystyrene film and loaded with appropriately sized transition metal complexes allow selective electron exchange reactions between trapped and mobile species in the film... 

Polymeric microparticles have been studied and developed for several years. Their contribution in the pharmacy field is of utmost importance in order to improve the efficiency of oral delivery of drugs. As drug carriers, polymer-based microparticles may avoid the early degradation of active molecules in undesirable sites of the gastrointestinal tract, mask unpleasant taste of drugs, reduce doses and side effects and improve bioavailability. Also, they allow the production of site-specific drug targeting, which consists of a suitable approach for the delivery of active molecules into desired tissues or cells in order to increase their efficiency. 

The aim of this chapter is to summarize some of the research findings on xylan, a natural polymer extracted from corn cobs, which presents a promising application in the development of colon-specific drug carriers. Physicochemical characterization of the polymer regarding particle size and morphology, composition, rheology, thermal behavior, and crystallinity will be provided. Additionally, research data on its extraction and the development of microparticles based on xylan and prepared by different methods will also be presented and discussed. 

A large variety of drug delivery systems are described in the literature, such as liposomes (Torchilin, 2006), micro and nanoparticles (Kumar, 2000), polymeric micelles (Torchilin, 2006), nanocrystals (Muller et al., 2011), among others. Microparticles are usually classified as microcapsules or microspheres (Figure 8). Microspheres are matrix spherical microparticles where the drug may be located on the surface or dissolved into the matrix. Microcapsules are characterized as spherical particles more than Ipm containing a core substance (aqueous or lipid), normally lipid, and are used to deliver poor soluble molecules... 

Xylan-based micro- and nanoparticles have been produced by simple coacervation (Garcia et al., 2001). In the study, sodium hydroxide and chloride acid or acetic acid were used as solvent and non-solvent, respectively. Also, xylan and surfactant concentrations and the molar ratio between sodium hydroxide and chloride acid were observed as parameters for the formation of micro- and nanoparticles by the simple coacervation technique (Garcia et al., 2001). Different xylan concentrations allowed the formation of micro- and nanoparticles. More precisely, microparticles were found for higher concentrations of xylan while nanopartides were produced for lower concentrations of the polymer solution. When the molar ratio between sodium hydroxide and chloride acid was greater than 1 1, the partides settled more rapidly at pH=7.0. Regarding the surfactant variations, an optimal concentration was found however, at higher ones a supernatant layer was observed after 30 days (Garda et al., 2001). 

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