Ciprofloxacin drug solubility in supercritical carbon dioxide and thermodynamics modelling

Abstract

Ciprofloxacin belongs to a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones and is capable of acting against different types of bacterial infections pertaining to the skin, bone, respiratory tract and those caused by typhoid [1]. Despite its potential activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, some studies have reported that consumption of ciprofloxacin is associated with many serious side effects such as diarrhea, arthralgia, and confusion [2]. Nanoparticle formulation of ciprofloxacin can be helpful to improve bioavailability additionally and to decrease the consumption of the required doses for each time and thus to decrease the following side effects. Due to several undesired properties related to the final products obtained from conventional nano sizing techniques, supercritical fluid (SCF) technologies have been recently known as an alternative option [3]. Among different candidates for supercritical medium, carbon dioxide (CO2) presents some superior properties over the others including non-toxicity, non-flammability, and mild critical temperature and pressure (304 K and 7.38 MPa, respectively) [4]. To design and optimize the processes based on these technologies, solubility values of the targeted solid in SCF at different temperatures and pressures are needed [5].