Particle Size Reduction Methods Quiz

Study Notes

Rapid, convenient and inexpensive: Micronization is a method for producing fine drug powders of about 10 to 50 µm size.
Parenteral/Ophthalmic Suspensions: Micronization is suitable for producing particles for parenteral and ophthalmic suspensions.
Oral/Topical Applications: Milling is used to reduce powders to the size acceptable for most oral and topical applications.
Extremely Small Dimensions: Nanotechnology is used to produce particles of extremely small dimensions, often in the nano-scale range.

Physical State: Pharmaceutical suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures, meaning they are composed of two or more distinct phases. The dispersed phase is the solid drug particles, and the dispersion medium is a liquid, typically water.
Disperse Systems: Pharmaceutical suspensions fall into the category of coarse dispersions or suspensions in the realm of disperse systems.
Administration Routes: Pharmaceutical Suspensions can be administered through various routes, including oral, topical, and parenteral routes depending on the specific drug and intended therapeutic effect.
Reason for Use: Suspensions are often used as a drug delivery system because they offer advantages over other dosage forms, such as increased stability, improved bioavailability, and ease of administration.
Chemical Stability: Certain drugs may be chemically unstable in solution but stable when suspended because the solid drug particles are protected from the aqueous environment where they could undergo unwanted reactions.