Aerosol dispersions of particles with active pharmaceutical ingredients

A method for producing an aerosol without requiring a hazardous organic solvent, said method comprising:

• heating a solid lipid or wax above its melt temperature to form a molten lipid or wax;
• adding an active pharmaceutical ingredient and amphiphile to the molten lipid or wax to form an emulsion;
• forming submicron particles using high shear in the emulsion;
• and
• cooling the emulsion and particles to room temperature to form the aerosol, wherein the aerosol comprises a plurality of aqueous droplets, each aqueous droplet of said plurality comprising:
• an essentially neutral colloidal particle sized to fit inside the droplet, wherein the essentially neutral particle is selected from the group consisting of a polymer, a solid lipid, a natural or synthetic wax, a pharmaceutically acceptable oil, a micelle, a polymersome, a vesicle, a polyplex, a coacervate and an inorganic particle;
• and
• an active pharmaceutical agent incorporated within the essentially neutral particle or attached to a surface of the essentially neutral particle.