(102d) Free Surface Electrospinning of Microemulsions Containing Fenofibrate

An estimated 90% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in research and development are poorly soluble or insoluble in water. These APIs exhibit poor bioavailability in solid dosage forms due to their poor solubility. To increase the release rate of APIs, free surface electrospinning of a microemulsion was used as means to produce submicron size domains of API dispersed in an amorphous excipient. Microemulsions containing fenofibrate, a poorly soluble API, Kolliphor EL, a surfactant, and a mixture of Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Polyethylene Glycol, excipients, are electrospun to produce highly porous nanofibers with high surface area, which promotes rapid drug release. Turbidity was measured to determine the stability of microemulsions, and was used to standardize the procedure for preparing the microemulsion. The microemulsion solution composition was adjusted and varying quality mats were produced through electrospinning. The parameters of the electrospinning set-up were held constant based on previous research. Several mats of varying quality were produced, and were analyzed macroscopically. Continued research will consist of the refinement of the solution concentration until high-quality mats are produced. This technique may be utilized to streamline the downstream production of powder pharmaceuticals, which would result in lower operating costs and improved uniformity over current batch manufacturing processes.