Process for storage of materials
AssigneeInhale Therapeutic Systems
InventorsFelix Franks, Ross Henry Hatley, Sheila Frances Mathias
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Materials which are not themselves storage-stable at room temperature are made suitable for storage by mixing them with a carrier substance and spray drying the resulting mixture so as to form particles containing both the material and the carrier substance in which the carrier substance is in an amorphous, i.e. glassy or rubbery, state. Formation of such a composition greatly enhances stability. The material stored may be a biological material such as an enzyme, the components of a chemical reaction such as reagents for carrying out an assay, or even viable biological cells.
Claims18
A process for rendering suitable for storage a material selected from the group consisting of proteins, peptides, nucleosides, nucleotides, dinucleotides and oligonucleotides, which process consists essentially of
- spraying into a hot gas stream, which is at a temperature in the range from 100.degree. C. to 300.degree. C., an aqueous mixture of said material and a carrier substance that is water-soluble or water-swellable and, that, on its own, is able to exist in a glassy amorphous state with a glass transition temperature above 20.degree. C.,
- drying the aqueous mixture to particles while travelling in the gas stream, said particles containing the material and the carrier substance in a glassy state that maintains the glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) of the particles above a T.sub.g of 20.degree. C., and
- separating the particles from the gas stream and collecting said particles, wherein at least 52% of the material survives drying of the solution to form said particles.
A process for rendering bacterial cells or fungal, single-cell organisms, suitable for storage, which process consists essentially of
- spraying into a hot gas stream, which is at a temperature in the range of 100.degree. C. to 300.degree. C., an aqueous mixture of
- (i) said cells
- (ii) a carrier substance that is water-soluble or water-swellable and that, on its own, is able to exist in a glassy amorphous state with a glass transition temperature above 20.degree. C.,
- drying the mixture to particles while travelling in the gas stream, said particles containing the cells and the carrier substance with said carrier substance in a glassy or rubbery state, and separating the particles from the gas stream and
- collecting the particles, wherein at least 25% of the cells remain viable after drying the mixture to form said particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.