Advances in Drying Technologies for Novel Drug Delivery System: A Comprehensive Review

A BSTRACT This comprehensive review presents recent advancements in drying technologies, a fundamental aspect of drug delivery systems (NDDS) in pharmaceutical sciences. Representative drying technologies that improve the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients include spray drying, freeze-drying, supercritical fluid drying, vacuum drying, microwave drying, infrared drying, and fluidized bed drying. Spray drying excels among the mentioned technologies for lipidic drug delivery systems production, generating amorphous solid dispersion and inhalation formulations. Freeze-drying possesses well-founded benefits of maintaining the integrity of thermolabile compounds. Supercritical fluid techniques also provide a solvent-less approach to nanoparticle formulations. Newer technologies, such as microwave drying and fluidized bed drying, have improved the process efficiency, production speed, and product quality of the resulting NDDS. Finally, we sought to briefly review how and what benefits from drying technologies would be improved by integrating with other NDDS approaches, specifically through self-microemulsifying drug delivery systems to help address drug solubility or targeted therapy. Overall, the culmination and adoption of these technological advances reflect an essential change in pharmaceutical and NDDS practices; it presents opportunities for future research and engineering of NDDS developments.