Atmospheric Pressure Cold Plasma Synthesis of Submicrometer-Sized Pharmaceuticals with Improved Physicochemical Properties

A reduction in particle size is one of the strategies to enhance the dissolution behavior of low water-soluble drugs such as niflumic acid. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma crystallization is a novel technique to achieve such submicrometer particles. This technique uses a surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma that both charges and heats solution droplets. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma crystallization was used to produce niflumic acid crystals and its excipient, Poloxamer 188, with a significant decrease in size compared to the conventional products. A substantial increase in dissolution rate of the submicrometer niflumic acid was observed in the presence of the plasma-made excipient.