Method of making a dry powder pharmaceutical composition

1. A method of making active pharmaceutical ingredient particles having surfaces with surface-modified nanoparticles deposited thereon, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of media particles having surfaces with surface-modified nanoparticles deposited on the surfaces of the media particles;

mixing the plurality of media particles with active ingredient particles to transfer surface-modified nanoparticles from the media particles to the active ingredient particles and provide active ingredient particles having surfaces with a portion of the surface-modified nanoparticles deposited thereon; and

subsequently, separating the plurality of media particles from the active ingredient particles having surfaces with the portion of the surface-modified nanoparticles deposited thereon;

wherein the media particles have at least one feature which is different from at least one feature of the active ingredient such that the media particles can be separated from the active ingredient particles.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising treating a plurality of media particles with surface-modified nanoparticles to provide the media particles having surfaces with the surface-modified nanoparticles deposited on the surfaces.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein treating the plurality of media particles with the surface-modified nanoparticles is carried out by mixing the media particles with the surface-modified nanoparticles in a liquid, and then removing the liquid; and wherein the media particles are substantially insoluble in the liquid, and the surface-modified nanoparticles are dispersible in the liquid.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the liquid is selected from the group consisting of water, an alcohol, a hydrocarbon, a fluorocarbon, a supercritical fluid, and a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the liquid is removed by rotary evaporation, bulk evaporation, spray drying, or freeze drying.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein treating the plurality of media particles with the surface-modified nanoparticles is carried out by dry blending the media particles with the surface-modified nanoparticles.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein treating the plurality of media particles with surface-modified nanoparticles comprises the step of spraying a liquid dispersion of surface-modified nanoparticles onto the media particles.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein mixing the plurality of media particles with the active ingredient particles to provide active ingredient particles having surfaces with the portion of the surface-modified nanoparticles deposited on the surfaces of the active pharmaceutical ingredient particles is carried out by dry blending the plurality of media particles with the active ingredient particles, which are both in dry form.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one feature is selected from the group consisting of particle diameter, particle aspect ratio, particle density, particle solubility, particle attraction to a magnetic field, particle repulsion from a magnetic field, and a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one feature includes particle diameter, and wherein at least 99 percent by weight of the media particles have a particle diameter at least 10 fold greater than the particle diameter of at least 99 percent by weight of the active ingredient particles.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one feature includes particle density, wherein at least 99 percent by weight of the media particles have a particle density at least 2 fold greater than the particle density of at least 99 percent by weight of the active ingredient particles.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media particles have a mean physical diameter of 200 micrometers to 5000 micrometers.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the active ingredient particles are micronized.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the active ingredient particles have a mass median aerodynamic diameter of at least 1 micrometer and less than 5 micrometers.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein when mixing the plurality of media particles with the active ingredient particles, the active ingredient particles and the media particles are each present in an amount such that the weight ratio of the amount of active ingredient particles to the amount of the media particles is not more than 1:10.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the media particles are non-friable.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface-modified nanoparticles comprise a core, the core comprising an organic core or an inorganic material selected from the group consisting of silica, titania, alumina, an oxide of zinc, an oxide of iron, metal phosphates, metal sulfates, metal chlorides, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein a surface of the core is modified with a compound selected from the group consisting of alkylsilanes, carboxylic acids, phosphonic acids, sulfonates, polyethylene glycols, sugars, and a combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface-modified nanoparticles have a mean diameter of not more than 20 nanometers.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface-modified nanoparticles deposited on the surfaces of the media particles are present in an amount of at least 0.1 percent and not more than 10 percent by weight of the media particles.