Reduction of PVA Aerogel Flammability by Incorporation of an Alkaline Catalyst.

Sodium hydroxide was used as a base catalyst to reduce the flammability of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) aerogels. The base-modified aerogels exhibited significantly enhanced compressive moduli, likely resulting in decreased gallery spacing and increased numbers of "struts" in their structures. The onset of decomposition temperature decreased for the PVA aerogels in the presence of the base, which appears to hinder the polymer pyrolysis process, leading instead to the facile formation of dense char.

Dense nanolipid fluid dispersions comprising ibuprofen: Single step extrusion process and drug properties.

Dense nanolipid fluid (DNLF) dispersions are highly concentrated aqueous dispersions of lipid nanocarriers (LNCs) with more than 10 lipid particles per cubic centimeter. Descriptions of dense nanolipid fluid dispersions in the scientific literature are rare, and they have not been used to encapsulate drugs. In this paper we describe the synthesis of DNLF dispersions comprising ibuprofen using a recently described twin-screw extrusion process.

One-step extrusion of concentrated lidocaine lipid nanocarrier (LNC) dispersions.

Lipid nanocarriers (LNCs) have been successfully produced by many methods including high pressure homogenization, sonication and microemulsification, but it remains very difficult to produce dispersions with greater than 30% LNCs, volume average particle diameter less than 150 nm, and concentration of drugs useful for topical products. This research is the first to propose and demonstrate extrusion to manufacture highly concentrated drug containing LNC dispersions continuously and economically in a single step. By treating crude emulsions in a twin-screw extruder which has sections for homogenizing, mixing and fast-cooling inside the extruder, lidocaine-loaded LNC dispersions were successfully generated with lipid concentration up to 60% and particle diameters less than 50 nm.