[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00249.].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of micronization on the characteristics of black cumin pressing waste material. The basic composition, amino acid, and fatty acid content of the raw material-specifically, black cumin pressing waste material-were determined. The samples were micronized in a planetary ball mill for periods ranging from 0 to 20 min. The particle sizes of micronized samples of black cumin pressing waste material were then examined using a laser analyzer, the Mastersizer 3000. The structures of the produced micronized powders was examined by X-ray diffraction. Additionally, the FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared) spectra of the micronized samples were recorded. The measurement of phenolic and antiradical properties was conducted both before and after in vitro digestion, and the evaluation of protein digestibility and trypsin inhibition was also conducted. The test results, including material properties, suggest that micronization for 10 min dramatically reduced particle diameters (d50) from 374.7 to 88.7 µm, whereas after 20 min, d50 decreased to only 64.5 µm. The results obtained using FTIR spectroscopy revealed alterations, especially in terms of intensity and, to a lesser extent, the shapes of the bands, indicating a significant impact on the molecular properties of the tested samples. X-ray diffraction profiles revealed that the internal structures of all powders are amorphous, and micronization methods have no effect on the internal structures of powders derived from black cumin pressing waste. Biochemical analyses revealed the viability of utilizing micronized powders from black cumin pressing waste materials as beneficial food additives, since micronization increased total phenolic extraction and antiradical activity.

κ-Carrageenan (κ-Car) is an important material for preparing food gels and hydrogels. However, κ-Car gel has issues with high hardness and low water-holding capacity. Modification strategy of micronization is proposed for the first time to explore its influence on texture properties and gelling process of κ-Car gel, and to investigate the feasibility of κ-Car as a food matrix with low strength. κ-Car undergoing 60 min of micronization, the d(0.9) decreased by 79.33 %, SBET and Vtotal increased by 89.23 % and 95.27 %. The swelling rate and degree of gelling process increased significantly, and the microstructure changed from loose large pores to dense small pores resembling a \"honeycomb\". Importantly, the hardness of gel-60, Milk-60 and PNS-60 decreased by 72.52 %, 49.25 % and 81.37 %. In addition, WHC of gel-60, Milk-60 and PNS-60 was improved. IDDSI tests showed that κ-Car gels, milk gels and PNS gels can be categorized as level 6 (soft and bite-sized), except for PNS-60, which belongs to level 5 (crumbly and moist). Furthermore, the texture and bitter masking effect of milk gels and PNS gels were improved. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that micronization can be a novel approach to improve the gel properties of κ-Car, laying the groundwork for developing dysphagia foods.

The vibrating superfine mill (VSM) is a machine that belongs to the micronization technique. In this study, VSM was employed to produce micronized tapioca starch by varying micronization times (15, 30, 45, and 60 min). The structural and physicochemical properties of the micronized starch were then examined. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that micronized starch was partially gelatinized, and the granule size dramatically increased when micronization time increased. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the relative crystallinity was decreased from 24.67% (native) to 4.13% after micronization treatment for 15 min and slightly decreased after that. The solubility of micronized starch significantly increased as the micronization time increased, which was associated with the destruction of the starch crystalline structure. Differential scanning calorimetry investigations confirmed that micronized starch was \"partly gelatinized,\" and the degree of gelatinization increased to 81.27% when the micronization time was 60 min. The weight-average molar mass was reduced by 15.0% (15 min), 30.9% (30 min), 55.7% (45 min), and 70.5% (60 min), respectively, indicating that the molecular structure was seriously degraded. The results demonstrated that the physicochemical changes of micronized starch granules were related to the destruction of the starch structure. These observations would provide details on micronized starch and its potential applications. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: These observations would provide details on micronized starch and its potential applications. Moreover, we believe that when the structures of starches were known, it is probable that the effect of VSM on the structural and physicochemical properties change of other starches might be predicted by adjusting the processing time.

This section aims to provide a concise and contemporary technical perspective and reference resource covering dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations. While DPI products are currently the leading inhaled products in terms of sales value, a number of confounding perspectives are presented to illustrate why they are considered surprisingly, and often frustratingly, poorly understood on a fundamental scientific level, and most challenging to design from first principles. At the core of this issue is the immense complexity of fine cohesive powder systems. This review emphasizes that the difficulty of successful DPI product development should not be underestimated and is best achieved with a well-coordinated team who respect the challenges and who work in parallel on device and formulation and with an appreciation of the handling environment faced by the patient. The general different DPI formulation types, which have evolved to address the challenges of aerosolizing fine cohesive drug-containing particles to create consistent and effective DPI products, are described. This section reviews the range of particle engineering processes that may produce micron-sized drug-containing particles and their subsequent assembly as either carrier-based or carrier-free compositions. The creation of such formulations is then discussed in the context of the material, bulk, interfacial and ultimately drug-delivery properties that are considered to affect formulation performance. A brief conclusion then considers the future DPI product choices, notably the issue of technology versus affordability in the evolving inhaler market.

Hypothesis Long-acting formulations such as microparticles, injectable depots and implantable devices can realize spatiotemporally controlled delivery of protein drugs to extend their therapeutic in vivo half-lives. To efficiently encapsulate the protein drugs into such drug delivery systems, (sub)micron-sized protein particles are needed. The formation of micronized supraproteins can be induced through the synergistic combination of attractive depletion forces and freezing. The size of the supraproteins can be fine-tuned from submicron to several microns by adjusting the ice crystallization rate through the freeze-quench depth, which is set by the target temperature. Methods Supraprotein micron structures were prepared from protein solutions under various conditions in the presence and absence of nonadsorbing polyethylene glycol. Scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering were employed to determine the sizes of the supraproteins and real-time total internal reflection fluorescent microscopy was used to follow the supraprotein formation during freezing. The protein secondary structure was measured before and after micronization by circular dichroism. A phase diagram of a protein-polyethylene glycol mixture was theoretically predicted to investigate whether the depletion interaction can elucidate the phase behavior. Findings Micronized protein supraparticles could be prepared in a controlled manner by rapid freeze-drying of aqueous mixtures of bovine serum albumin, horseradish peroxidase and lysozyme mixed with polyethylene glycol. Upon freezing, the temperature quench initiates a phase separation process which is reminiscent of spinodal decomposition. This demixing is subsequently arrested during droplet phase separation to form protein-rich microstructures. The final size of the generated protein microparticles is determined by a competition between phase separation and cooling rate, which can be controlled by target temperature. The experimental phase diagram of the aqueous protein-polyethylene glycol dispersion aligns with predictions from depletion theory for charged colloids and nonadsorbing polymers.

N-butyl-N-methyl-1-phenylpyrrole[1,2-a] pyrazine-3-carboxamide (GML-3) is a potential candidate for combination drug therapy due to its anxiolytic and antidepressant activity. The anxiolytic activity of GML-3 is comparable to diazepam. The antidepressant activity of GML-3 is comparable to amitriptyline. GML-3 is an 18 kDa mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) ligand and is devoid of most of the side effects of diazepam, which makes the research on the creation of drugs based on it promising. However, its low water solubility and tendency to agglomerate prevented its release. This research aimed to study the effect of dry grinding, the rapid expansion of a supercritical solution (RESS), and the eutectic mixture (composite) of GML-3 with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the particle size, dissolution rate, and lattice retention of GML-3. The use of supercritical CO2 in the RESS method was promising in terms of particle size reduction, resulting in a reduction in the particle size of GML-3 to 20-40 nm with a 430-fold increase in dissolution rate. However, in addition to particle size reduction after RESS, GML-3 began to show signs of a polymorphism phenomenon, which was also studied in this article. It was found that coarse grinding reduced particle size by a factor of 2 but did not significantly affect solubility or crystal structure. Co-milling with the polymer made it possible to level the effect of the appearance of a residual electrostatic charge on the particles, as in the case of grinding, and the increased solubility in the resulting mechanical mixtures of GML-3 with the polymer may also indicate the dissolving properties of polymers (an increase in 400-800 times). The best result in terms of GML-3 solubility was demonstrated by the resulting GML-3:PVP composite at a ratio of 1:4, which made it possible to achieve a solubility of about 80% active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) within an hour with an increase in the dissolution rate by 1600 times. Thus, the creation of composites is the most effective method for improving the solubility of GML-3, superior to micronization.

Dry powder inhalers, comprising an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and carrier excipients, are often used in the delivery of pulmonary drugs. The stability of the API particle size within a formulation blend is a critical attribute for aerodynamic performance but can be challenging to measure. The presence of excipients, typically at concentrations much higher than API, makes measurement by laser diffraction very difficult. This work introduces a novel laser diffraction approach that takes advantage of solubility differences between the API and excipients. The method allows insight into the understanding of drug loading effects on API particle stability of the drug product. Lower drug load formulations show better particle size stability compared with high drug load formulations, likely due to reduced cohesive interactions.

Red raspberries, which contain a variety of nutrients and phytochemicals that are beneficial for human health, can be utilized as a raw material in the creation of several supplements. This research suggests micronized powder of raspberry pomace production. The molecular characteristics (FTIR), sugar, and biological potential (phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity) of micronized raspberry powders were investigated. FTIR spectroscopy results revealed spectral changes in the ranges with maxima at ~1720, 1635, and 1326, as well as intensity changes in practically the entire spectral range analyzed. The discrepancies clearly indicate that the micronization of the raspberry byproduct samples cleaved the intramolecular hydrogen bonds in the polysaccharides present in the samples, thus increasing the respective content of simple saccharides. In comparison to the control powders, more glucose and fructose were recovered from the micronized samples of the raspberry powders. The study\'s micronized powders were found to contain nine different types of phenolic compounds, including rutin, elagic acid derivatives, cyanidin-3-sophoroside, cyanidin-3-(2-glucosylrutinoside), cyanidin-3-rutinoside, pelargonidin-3-rutinoside, and elagic acid derivatives. Significantly higher concentrations of ellagic acid and ellagic acid derivatives and rutin were found in the micronized samples than in the control sample. The antioxidant potential assessed by ABTS and FRAP significantly increased following the micronization procedure.

Plastics contain various types and amounts of additives that can leach into the water column when entering aquatic ecosystems. Some leached plastic additives are hazardous to marine biota at environmentally relevant concentrations. Disparate methodological approaches have been adopted for toxicity testing of plastic leachates, making comparison difficult. Here we propose a protocol to standardize the methodology to obtain leachates from microplastics (MPs) for aquatic toxicity testing. Literature reviewing and toxicity tests using marine model organisms and different types of MPs were conducted to define the main methodological aspects of the protocol. Acute exposure to leachates from the studied plastics caused negative effects on the early life stages of sea urchins and marine bacteria. We provide recommendations of key factors influencing lixiviation of MPs , such as particle size (<250 μm), solid-to-liquid ratio (1-10 g/L), mixing conditions (1-60 rpm), and lixiviation time (72 h). The proposed methodology was successful to determine the toxicity of leachates from different micronized plastics on marine biota. Our recommendations balance sensitivity, feasibility and environmental relevance, and their use would help ensure comparability amongst studies for a better assessment of the toxicity of plastic leachates on aquatic biota.