Researchers from the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) have developed porous (mesoporous) phospholipid-derived particles that are suitable for use as a drug delivery system. In conventional studies, hard materials such as silica and carbon materials have been used for such purposes, posing safety concerns to patients, but the mesoporous material developed at NIMS consists exclusively of biologically derived materials and is therefore expected to be very safe for human use.
Getting official approval is often a hurdle when developing a drug delivery system. To produce a certified pharmaceutical product, it is necessary to demonstrate the safety of the additive to be used before investigating the safety of the product itself. For this reason, pharmaceutical companies tend to avoid using new additives, which has been a barrier to the development of new drug carriers.
However, the phospholipids examined by NIMS have already been used as emulsions and liposomes, and are not therefore regarded as new additives. This material comprises highly uniform mesoporous particles with diameters ranging between 5–20µm, depending on their composition. It is a very lightweight material with a bulk density of about 0.02g/cm3, from which an aerodynamic diameter of 1–3µm is calculated. These are ideal features for the use of this material as a powder inhalation carrier.
As the material consists of lipid bilayer membranes that are similar to biological one, it possesses the characteristics of both mesoporous particles and liposomes. As such, it can be used with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs of various physical properties. This material is suitable for industrial production as it can be easily prepared by freeze-drying. Further details can be found online.
