Laser Fragmentation as an Efficient Size-Reduction Method for Pulmonary Drug Discovery: Proof-of-Concept Study of Beclomethasone Dipropionate

Femtoand nanosecond lasers were used to produce micron-sized particles of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) in water. These novel processes were compared with traditional milling methods in terms of particle size, degradation and physicochemical properties. Results showed that similarly to conventional milling methods, minimal chemical degradation and amorphization were induced by the laser processes. As laser micronization requires minimal amounts of drug, this process is well suited for the discovery of pulmonary drugs.