Malvern Zetasizer Nano helps Solumer™ development

Since its installation 18 months ago, a Malvern Zetasizer Nano particle characterization system has proved indispensable at SoluBest, a drug delivery company based in Israel that uses advanced polymer formulations to prepare nanotransporters for drugs that are subject to delivery or compliance issues.

Solubest’s Solumer™ Drug-Transport Nanotechnology is based on an innovative approach for designing therapeutic entities of the active drug molecule wrapped by regulatory approved polymers. Many drug candidates are hydrophobic, and hence their bioavailability is poor, and the drug delivery mechanisms available are limited. Selectively wrapping or coiling drugs in these polymers allows the materials to be solubilized with significantly increased surface area.

Dr Irene Jaffe, Director of Corporate Strategy at SoluBest explained: “Around half of all new drugs have associated delivery issues. We aim to provide better delivery systems for these and for existing compounds.”

The Zetasizer Nano is used in the characterization of the drug formulations to evaluate the nano particle entities produced, their size and the stability of the dispersions. It is also used for characterizing the polymers themselves. Here a variety of parameters, including concentration, pH, temperature and ionic strength, are examined to determine the optimum solution conditions, and are instrumental in the prediction of polymer structure and behaviour under different conditions.

One of the areas that has been particularly helpful to SoluBest has been the support the company has received from the Malvern team. The unique character and properties of the polymer-drug entities involved in SoluBest’s work has meant that assistance with applications and data interpretation has been a vital part of the package.

Malvern’s Zetasizer Nano series simplifies the measurement of particle size, stability characterization using zeta potential, and molecular weight, for a wide range of dispersions, emulsions and molecules in solution. It is the method of choice for nano-particle applications from routine colloid size measurements to the investigation of particulates at the leading edge of materials research. Patented technologies ensure optimum performance for particle size measurement over the range 0.6 to 6000 nm, molecular weight measurement from 1 x 103 to 2 x 107 Daltons and the zeta potential of particles from 5 nm to 10 µm.