OSLO, NORWAY -13 July 2021
A study using renewable solvent Cyrene™ , produced by biotechnology company Circa Group, found that high-purity nanoparticles can be produced -opening up opportunities to use Cyrene™ as a more sustainable and safer replacement for current solvents used in drug delivery systems and medical implants.
New research out of Germany used bio-based Cyrene™ to produce poly(lactic-coglycolic acid) nanoparticles for drug delivery systems. Cyrene™ itself and the nanoparticles were found to be biocompatible -meaning it is well suited to replace toxic harmful organic solvents more commonly used in their preparation. Using Cyrene™ produced high-quality nanoparticles and led to a significant decrease in preparation time when compared to industry-standard solvents.
Cyrene™ is an alternative to traditional dipolar aprotic solvents, which are used in large volumes -over one million tonnes per year -and under intense regulatory pressure due their toxicity.
Professor Dagmar Fischer, from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat ErlangenNOrnberg, and the lead researcher on the project, said, “In comparison to the standard techniques used for the formulation of drug loaded polymer nanoparticles, interestingly with Cyrene™ it is possible to effectively reduce process time and process steps.”
Tony Duncan, CEO of Circa Group, said, “We are not surprised that Cyrene™ continues to show performance benefits in a range of medical and pharmaceutical applications. Extensive research shows it is a safer and more sustainable, highperformance alternative.”