Fabrication of micro- and nano-particles of drug (I) for pharmaceutical application

Many drugs are of very poor water solubility, so they tend to be eliminated from the gastrointestinal tract before they could be absorbed into the blood circulation, resulting in low bioavailability and poor dose proportionality. This project aims to improve the solubility of a poorly water-soluble drug known as Quercetin, making micro- and nano-particles (including drug-loaded polymer nano-particles) of it using the evaporative precipitation of nano-suspensions method. Fabrication of the drug particles will be controlled and optimized, and their physicochemical properties will be investigated. For this project, the author has looked into how the choices of solvents and anti-solvents, the concentration of the drug, the solvent to anti-solvent ratio and the presence of the polymer known as Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), will enhance the kinetic solubility and bioavailability of the drug. Characterization of the produced drug were done using the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR), Dissolution Test and the Ultra-Violet Spectrophotometer.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering