Spherical drug particles prepared by the spherical crystallization
technique can simultaneously improve the mobility of particles, mechanical
properties, drug solubility and bioavailability, etc. However, high-efficient
mixing of a solution and the formation of uniform bridging liquid
droplets were crucial for accurate control of spherical crystallization
processes. Herein, a novel membrane-assisted spherical crystallization
(MASC) technology was proposed to produce monodisperse spherical agglomerates
of ceftriaxone sodium. The poor solvent permeation rate of MASC was
stabilized by adjusting the liquid flow velocity in the shell side
and tube side. Uniform bridging liquid droplets constructed by a polytetrafluoroethylene
hollow fiber membrane were observed in real time. A stable flow field
and crystallization microenvironment were provided on the hollow fiber
membrane surface. The crystal size distribution and the coefficient
of variation of ceftriaxone sodium products were improved compared
with those of conventional spherical crystallization (CSC) under the
same stirring rate. The impurities of CSC products did not meet the
requirements due to the degradation after 14 days’ acceleration
experiment, while the one of MASC products still met the pharmacopoeia
requirements after 30 days. This study provides a potential membrane-based
technology for the enhancement of spherical crystallization of related
drugs.