Surface morphology of spray-dried nanoparticle-coated microparticles designed as an oral drug delivery system

This paper was devoted to studying the influence of coating material (nanocapsules or nanospheres), drug model (diclofenac, acid or salt) and method of preparation on the morphological characteristics of nanoparticle-coated microparticles. The cores of microparticles were obtained by spray drying or evaporation and the coating was applied by spray drying. SEM analyses showed nanostructures coating the surface of nanocapsule-coated microparticles and a rugged surface for nanosphere-coated microparticles. The decrease in their surface areas was controlled by the nanoparticulated system, which was not dependent on microparticle size. Optical microscopy and X-ray analyses indicated that acid diclofenac crystals were present in formulations prepared with the acid as well as in the nanocapsule-coated microparticles prepared with the salt. The control of coating is dependent on the use of nanocapsules or nanospheres and independent of either the characteristics of the drug or the method of preparing the core.