BigPatents India

Methods and apparatus are provided for making particles comprising: (a) spraying an emulsion, solution, or suspension, which comprises a solvent and a bulk material (e.g., a pharmaceutical agent), through an atomizer (14) and into a primary drying chamber (12), having a drying gas flowing therethrough, to form droplets comprising the solvent and bulk material dispersed in the drying gas; (b) evaporating, in the primary drying chamber (12), at least a portion of the solvent into the drying gas to solidify the droplets and form particles dispersed in drying gas; and (c) flowing the particles and at least a portion of the drying gas through a jet mill (24) to deagglomerate or grind the particles. By coupling spray drying with "in-line" jet milling, a single step process is created from two separate unit operations, and an additional collection step is advantageously eliminated. The one-step, in-line process has further advantages in time and cost of processing (FIG. - 1)