Investigation of Factors Affecting Aerodynamic Performance of Nebulized Nanoemulsion.

This work aimed to prepare a nanoemulsion preparation containing budesonide and assess its aerodynamic behavior in comparison with suspension of budesonide. aerodynamic performance of the corresponding micellar solution (ie. nanoemulsion preparation without oil) was investigated too. Nanoemulsions of almond oil containing budesonide, as a hydrophobic model drug molecule, were prepared and optimized. Then, the effect of variation of surfactant/co-surfactant concentration on the aerodynamic properties of the nebulized aerosol was studied. The results indicated that the most physically stable formulation makes the smallest aerodynamic size. The concentration of co-surfactant was also shown to be critical in determination of aerodynamic size. Furthermore, the optimized sample, with 3% w/w almond oil, 20% w/w Tween 80+Span 80 and 2% w/w ethanol showed a smaller MMAD in comparison with the commercially available suspension and the micellar solution.