Dr. Julia Rashba-Step, VP of R&D and Alliance Management at Phosphorex, a CDMO specialising in the formulation and manufacture of particles, explains how its using microfluidics to help its clients accelerate their nanoparticle fabrication and forward the development of new nanomedicines.
Key insights:
- It has so far proven difficult to create optimised nanoparticle constructions with consistent particle monodispersity using conventional batch methods.
- It is necessary to rapidly establish a cost-efficient method for large-scale particle-encapsulated drug production once a good candidate had been discovered.
- Phosphorex is taking advantage of a dedicated nanoparticle production platform – the Automated Nanoparticle System (ANP System, Particle Works) – which uses microfluidics to offer automated set-up and processing of multiple samples.
Effective drug delivery ensures that therapeutic agents reach their intended destination, releasing the active pharmaceutical ingredient at the target site while avoiding off-target effects. Nanoparticles can be used to encapsulate drug molecules, preventing premature metabolism as they pass through the body, as well as increasing penetration of the cell membrane. Some nanoparticle formulations also have the ability to target specific tissues where the treatment is needed. However, it has so far proven difficult to create optimised nanoparticle constructions with consistent particle monodispersity using conventional batch methods.