On the spray drying of uniform functional microparticles

Abstract Spray drying is a typical method to produce particles in dry powder forms at industrial scale. Most spray-dried products often show a wide range of particle properties even within the same batch. At Monash University, we utilise a microfluidic spray drying approach to generate uniform microparticles with tightly controlled characteristics and sizes in a scalable, almost waste-free process. The technique is useful to correlate the effects of formulation and spray drying conditions on the properties of spray-dried particles, and can be used to test new formulations for targeted applications such as encapsulation and release of active ingredients. The synthesis route can be applied to other self-assembling systems, including mesoporous, crystalline, and hierarchically structured microparticles. As spray drying is commonly used in commercial scales, the understanding of how functional particles are formed in relation to formulations and process conditions could assist in developing a cost effective, energy and material-efficient route to produce powders with better properties and ease of handling for more advanced applications such as selective adsorption and bio-separation.