Development and application of the spray freeze drying technique for phytopharmaceutical products

• Grant number: 11/20872-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Luis Alexandre Pedro de Freitas
• Grantee: Luis Alexandre Pedro de Freitas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to study the freeze drying technique for drying extracts of Brazilian plants. Normally, two techniques have been preferentially applied for drying of herbal extracts. One is the freeze-drying, which merit is based on the fact that it is performed at low temperatures, which decreases undesirable chemical degradation during drying. But this is a technique that has low potential for industrial use, due to the very high cost for large-scale productions. On the other hand, the most used drying technique for plant extracts is the spray drying. The extracts are atomized in small droplets that are subjected to a stream of hot air. The extremely fast process can minimize chemical degradations due to the high temperatures. But the main advantages of this technique are the high productivity and ease of scaling up, making it an attractive method for industrial scale. The technique of "spray-freeze drying" is a breakthrough that will bring numerous benefits to the processing of natural and biotechnology products. Its main feature is the combination of the advantages of both the "spray dryer" and the "freeze dryer."In this project we propose to study and improve this new technique and its application to the drying of plant extracts. The material is frozen during or after spraying, resulting in microparticles frozen at temperatures typical of lyophilization. These are transferred to a chamber for the sublimation of moisture under vacuum, or to a fluidized bed in order to remove moisture by sublimation under vacuum or room pressure. The extracts will be dried by the new technique of spray-freeze drying and compared by their physicochemical properties with the extracts dried by conventional freeze-drying and spray drying. The extracts of yellow uxi, baccharis and jatoba were chosen because they are Brazilian and plants due to the potential they have to eventually become herbal medicines. Besides, chemical markers will be quantified by HPLC, and extracts anti-oxidant activities will also be monitored. With this project we intend to bring to Brazil the domain of a promising new drying technique, combined with the strategic area of medicinal plants. Another higlight will be the training of human resources in this important topic within the area of drying. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PEREIRA, SIMONE VIEIRA; COLOMBO, FABIO BELOTTI; PEDRO DE FREITAS, LUIS ALEXANDRE. Ultrasound influence on the solubility of solid dispersions prepared for a poorly soluble drug. ULTRASONICS SONOCHEMISTRY, v. 29, p. 461-469, MAR 2016. (10/02078-9, 11/20872-7)

GUIMARAES, THIAGO F.; COMELLI, AMANDA C. C.; TACON, LUCIANA A.; CUNHA, TALITA A.; MARRETO, RICARDO N.; FREITAS, LUIS A. P.. Fluidized Bed Hot Melt Granulation with Hydrophilic Materials Improves Enalapril Maleate Stability. AAPS PHARMSCITECH, v. 18, n. 4, p. 1302-1310, MAY 2017. (05/05191-2, 11/20872-7)

NOSARI, ANNA B. F. L.; LIMA, JULIANA F.; SERRA, OSVALDO A.; FREITAS, LUIS ALEXANDRE P.. Improved green coffee oil antioxidant activity for cosmetical purpose by spray drying microencapsulation. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE FARMACOGNOSIA-BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOGNOSY, v. 25, n. 3, p. 307-311, MAY-JUN 2015. (11/20872-7, 12/04071-7)

HAMIN NETO, YOUSSEF ALI ABOU; PEDRO DE FREITAS, LUIS ALEXANDRE; CABRAL, HAMILTON. Multivariate Analysis of the Stability of Spray-Dried Eupenicillium javanicum Peptidases. Drying Technology, v. 32, n. 5, p. 614-621, APR 4 2014. (11/06986-0, 11/20872-7)

GUIMARAES, THIAGO FRANCES; LANCHOTE, AUREA D.; DA COSTA, JESSICA SILVA; VICOSA, ALESSANDRA LIFSITCH; PEDRO DE FREITAS, LUIS ALEXANDRE. A multivariate approach applied to quality on particle engineering of spray-dried mannitol. ADVANCED POWDER TECHNOLOGY, v. 26, n. 4, p. 1094-1101, JUL 2015. (11/20872-7)

CORREIA TEIXEIRA, CRISTIANE CARDOSO; DE FREITAS CABRAL, TATIANA PEREIRA; TACON, LUCIANA ALVES; VILLARDI, ISABEL LEMOS; LANCHOTE, AUREA DONIZETE; PEDRO DE FREITAS, LUIS ALEXANDRE. Solid state stability of polyphenols from a plant extract after fluid bed atmospheric spray-freeze-drying. Powder Technology, v. 319, p. 494-504, SEP 2017. (13/23327-5, 11/20872-7)

ZAMARIOLI, CRISTINA M.; MARTINSH, RODRIGO M.; CARVALHO, EMILIA C.; FREITAS, LUIS A. P.. Nanoparticles containing curcuminoids (Curcuma longa): development of topical delivery formulation. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE FARMACOGNOSIA-BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOGNOSY, v. 25, n. 1, p. 53-60, JAN-FEB 2015. (11/20872-7)

TEIXEIRA, C. C. C.; MENDONCA, L. M.; BERGAMASCHI, M. M.; QUEIROZ, R. H. C.; SOUZA, G. E. P.; ANTUNES, L. M. G.; FREITAS, L. A. P.. Microparticles Containing Curcumin Solid Dispersion: Stability, Bioavailability and Anti-Inflammatory Activity. AAPS PHARMSCITECH, v. 17, n. 2, p. 252-261, APR 2016. (11/20872-7)