Background: This article presents an acoustically enhanced microfluidic mixer to generate highly uniform and ultra-fine nanoparticles, offering significant advantages over conventional liquid antisolvent techniques.
Methods: The method employed a 3D microfluidic geometry whereby two different phases - solvent and antisolvent - were introduced at either side of a 1 μm thick resonating membrane, which contained a through-hole. The vibration of the membrane rapidly and efficiently mixed the two phases, at the location of the hole, leading to the formation of nanoparticles.
Results: The versatility of the device was demonstrated by synthesizing budesonide (a common asthma drug) with a mean diameter of 135.7 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.044.
Conclusion: The method offers a 40-fold reduction in the size of synthesized particles combined with a substantial improvement in uniformity, achieved without the need of stabilizers.
Keywords: budesonide; liquid antisolvent method; microfluidics; nanodrugs.