BOC Sciences develops nanosuspension and microemulsion formulations for compounds limited by low aqueous solubility, slow dissolution, precipitation, or difficult dose loading. Our integrated formulation services cover API assessment, excipient screening, particle-size reduction, phase-behavior mapping, prototype optimization, characterization, drying, and process scale-up. Each program is designed around the molecule, intended administration route, dosage form, and performance target rather than a fixed platform.
Nanosuspensions are colloidal dispersions of submicron drug particles stabilized by polymers, surfactants, or both. They can increase surface area and dissolution rate while retaining a high proportion of drug in the dispersed phase. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable, isotropic mixtures of oil, water, surfactant, and often a cosurfactant that form within defined composition regions. They can solubilize lipophilic or hydrophilic compounds in oil-in-water, water-in-oil, or bicontinuous structures. The appropriate platform depends on solid-state behavior, dose requirement, excipient tolerance, dilution conditions, and the desired product format.
Our nanosuspension feasibility assessment helps clients determine whether a particle-based formulation is suitable for their API. BOC Sciences reviews solubility, pKa, logP/logD, melting behavior, solid form, chemical stability, dose target, and material availability, then uses small-scale pre-formulation screening to recommend a top-down, bottom-up, or combined development strategy.
BOC Sciences provides stabilizer and dispersion-medium screening to improve wetting, limit aggregation, control particle growth, and maintain redispersibility. Our excipient screening compares polymers, surfactants, and combination systems under relevant formulation conditions. Particle-size distribution, PDI, zeta potential, sedimentation, and stress data are used to rank candidates and select a suitable stabilizer system.
Our nanosuspension processing service covers top-down wet media milling and high-pressure homogenization, as well as bottom-up antisolvent precipitation and combination processing. BOC Sciences optimizes bead size, pressure, supersaturation, mixing, stabilizer placement, temperature, and aging. Particle-size, recovery, solid-state, and redispersibility results guide suspension formulation and process optimization decisions.
BOC Sciences supports conversion of liquid nanosuspensions into redispersible powders through freeze-drying or spray drying, followed by process scale-up. Our lyophilization services assess protectants, reconstitution, recovered particle size, aggregation, moisture, solid form, and dissolution. Subsequent scale-up studies define suitable batch volume, energy input, flow rate, temperature, hold time, and operating ranges.
Our oil-phase screening service identifies oils, mixed oils, lipid-like solvents, and cosolvents that can support the required active loading. BOC Sciences combines equilibrium and kinetic solubility analysis with evaluation of polarity, viscosity, oxidation sensitivity, surfactant compatibility, water uptake, and dilution behavior, providing a ranked oil-phase shortlist for subsequent microemulsion development.
BOC Sciences provides surfactant and cosurfactant screening to establish an interfacial system suited to the selected oil phase and active ingredient. HLB balance, component ratio, water capacity, temperature response, and total surfactant level are evaluated. Conductivity, viscosity, domain size, phase separation, and precipitation data are integrated with surfactant solubilization results to rank candidate systems.
Our pseudoternary phase mapping and composition optimization service defines workable microemulsion regions across several component ratios. Through formulation design and screening, BOC Sciences compares conductivity, viscosity, domain size, loading capacity, dilution response, precipitation risk, and rheology. The resulting data distinguish oil-in-water, water-in-oil, bicontinuous, and multiphase systems and support lead-formulation selection.
BOC Sciences provides dilution-stability and scale-up support to confirm that a lead microemulsion remains suitable beyond its initial laboratory composition. We evaluate media, pH, ionic strength, temperature, agitation, addition sequence, mixing rate, equilibration, transfer, and hold conditions. Comparative assay, conductivity, viscosity, domain size, water content, and dilution data are used to define practical preparation and operating controls.
Our experienced team combines extensive formulation raw materials, specialized formulation products, and comprehensive characterization platforms to support the custom design, preparation, optimization, and evaluation of nanosuspension and microemulsion systems tailored to your project requirements.
BOC Sciences supports liquid, dry, and semisolid formulation systems for APIs and active ingredients with different solubility, solid-state, loading, and application requirements.
| Formulation System | Suitable Material Profiles and Applications |
Aqueous Nanosuspension Concentrates | Suitable for crystalline, poorly water-soluble APIs that require high drug loading without complete molecular solubilization. These concentrates can support oral liquids, injectable suspensions, and topical formulations or serve as intermediates for dilution, drying, capsule filling, and incorporation into other dosage forms. |
Redispersible Dry Nanosuspensions | Suitable for poorly soluble APIs requiring a dry and transportable formulation intermediate, particularly when prolonged exposure to water may cause hydrolysis, particle growth, or sedimentation. These powders can support reconstitutable products, capsules, tablets, sachets, and downstream granulation after satisfactory redispersibility is established. |
Oil-in-Water Microemulsions | Suitable for lipophilic drugs, vitamins, natural-product actives, and other ingredients that dissolve readily in oils but have limited compatibility with aqueous formulations. Oil-in-water microemulsions can support oral liquids, topical products, and water-dilutable concentrates where solubilization capacity and precipitation control are important. |
Water-in-Oil Microemulsions | Suitable for hydrophilic actives that need to be incorporated into an oil-continuous carrier or for lipophilic products requiring controlled water inclusion. These systems can support topical, transdermal, moisture-resistant, and specialized delivery research when water loading, viscosity, and phase-inversion risks must be controlled. |
Bicontinuous Microemulsion Systems | Suitable for projects requiring simultaneous incorporation of hydrophilic and lipophilic components within interconnected aqueous and oil domains. These systems can support drug co-solubilization, topical delivery, extraction, reaction media, enzyme-compatible environments, and nanomaterial preparation where rapid component exchange is beneficial. |
Gelled Microemulsion Systems | Suitable when a low-viscosity microemulsion must be converted into a spreadable or locally retained semisolid while maintaining its solubilization properties. Gelled microemulsions can support topical, transdermal, cosmetic, and localized application research requiring combined oil-water solubilization, controlled rheology, and release performance. |
Share your API or active ingredient properties, including intended dosage form, administration route, and current formulation challenges. Our scientists will evaluate these requirements and design a suitable strategy covering system selection, excipient screening, processing, characterization, and scale-up considerations.
Our comprehensive characterization services support nanosuspension and microemulsion projects throughout the entire development workflow. From physicochemical properties and particle characteristics to stability and formulation performance, our experienced team provides integrated analytical support to help address complex characterization challenges.
We review solubility, solid-state behavior, dose target, route, dosage form, chemical stability, and excipient constraints. Nanosuspension, microemulsion, or parallel feasibility work is selected according to the molecule's actual risks and the decisions the client needs to make.
Stabilizers, dispersion media, oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants are screened in focused matrices. Small-scale prototypes are produced by milling, homogenization, precipitation, phase titration, or suitable combinations, conserving API while identifying workable composition regions.
Critical composition and process variables are refined through comparative experiments. Particle or domain size, PDI, zeta potential, solid state, drug loading, dissolution, dilution response, rheology, redispersibility, and stability data are integrated to rank candidates.
The lead formulation is confirmed through repeat preparation, stress testing, and scale-relevant process trials. Clients receive the agreed formulation, analytical results, preparation parameters, comparative data, and project records needed for downstream research or further development.
Nanosuspensions can lose their particle-size advantage through agglomeration, sediment compaction, Ostwald ripening, or crystal growth. Drying may add fusion or incomplete reconstitution. BOC Sciences investigates wetting, stabilizer adsorption, zeta potential, viscosity, ionic strength, particle-size distribution, and solid form together. We then adjust polymer-surfactant combinations, solids loading, milling conditions, protectants, and drying cycles, confirming improvements through repeated size measurements and redispersion tests rather than visual appearance alone.
A formulation may reach a small mean particle size yet still provide insufficient drug concentration or inconsistent dissolution because of a broad size distribution, strong crystal lattice, poor wetting, stabilizer interference, or rapid particle growth. We compare crystalline and amorphous behavior, top-down and bottom-up processing, solids loading, stabilizer level, particle-size percentiles, and dissolution under relevant conditions. This helps separate a genuine platform limitation from a composition or process problem that can be optimized.
A clear microemulsion can precipitate its active after dilution, pH change, temperature shift, or contact with salts because the drug's solubilization environment and the phase structure both change. BOC Sciences evaluates multiple dilution paths, media, temperatures, and holding periods while monitoring transmittance, conductivity, size, assay, and visible precipitation. Oil fraction, surfactant ratio, cosurfactant level, active loading, and composition margin are then adjusted to improve robustness without relying on clarity at the initial composition.
Some oil-surfactant-water systems form a clear phase only within a narrow composition window, making them sensitive to weighing variation, water uptake, evaporation, temperature, or active loading. We construct pseudoternary phase diagrams across several surfactant-to-cosurfactant ratios and characterize representative points by conductivity, viscosity, optical methods, and dilution testing. Lead compositions are selected away from unstable boundaries whenever possible, with preparation order and equilibration conditions defined to improve reproducibility.
Collaborate with BOC Sciences to compare nanosuspension and microemulsion strategies, generate focused prototypes, investigate failure mechanisms, and select a formulation supported by particle, phase, dissolution, and stability data.
Particle engineering and phase behavior cannot be optimized independently from solid form, solubility, and chemical stability. BOC Sciences combines colloid science, interfacial chemistry, solid-state analysis, drying, and formulation testing in one program. This integrated view helps explain whether failure arises from crystal conversion, incomplete stabilizer coverage, interfacial changes, phase-boundary movement, or active degradation.
We do not assume that every poorly soluble compound should be nanomilled or solubilized in a surfactant-rich system. Platform selection considers dose, melting behavior, logP/logD, ionization, oil solubility, solid-state risk, route, dosage form, and excipient constraints. Parallel feasibility experiments can be used when the initial data do not clearly favor a nanosuspension or microemulsion.
Decisions are supported by linked composition, process, and performance data rather than appearance or mean particle size alone. Our analytical platform supports orthogonal review of particle distribution, zeta potential, solid state, drug loading, dissolution, rheology, conductivity, phase behavior, and stability. This makes prototype ranking clearer and helps direct the next experiment efficiently.
Projects can begin with a small API quantity and a focused feasibility question, or with an existing formulation that requires troubleshooting and scale-up. BOC Sciences adapts experiment size, analytical depth, drying work, and process studies to the decision point. Clients receive comparative results, selected preparation parameters, and clear formulation recommendations rather than an undifferentiated collection of screening data.
Client Needs: A discovery team working on a BCS Class IV compound with very low aqueous solubility needed a nanosuspension to improve dissolution rate for oral formulation research, with a target particle size below 300 nm and good redispersibility after storage.
Challenges: Initial milling gave a broad size distribution and visible particle growth during stabilization. The compound also showed polymorphic sensitivity, so the team needed assurance that milling did not change the crystal form.
Solution: We screened three polymeric stabilizers by sedimentation and microscopy, then optimized wet media milling across 18 conditions varying bead size, milling time, and stabilizer ratio. Particle size was tracked by DLS and laser diffraction, while XRD and DSC confirmed no polymorphic change. After 64 particle-size and 12 solid-state measurements, we selected a process giving a monodisperse, redispersible nanocrystal suspension.
Outcome: The client received a well-characterized nanosuspension with a narrowed size distribution, confirmed crystal form, and a documented milling method suitable for scale-up discussion.
Client Needs: A topical research group required an oil-in-water microemulsion for a lipophilic active with poor water dispersibility, aiming for a clear, low-viscosity system that stayed stable after dilution with aqueous media.
Challenges: Early screening showed a narrow microemulsion region and precipitation when the prototype was diluted more than tenfold. Surfactant concentration was also a constraint for the intended skin research use.
Solution: We built pseudoternary phase diagrams for four surfactant/cosurfactant blends, screened oil phases for solubilizing capacity, and selected a composition within a broad microemulsion region. Dilution robustness was evaluated across 100-fold aqueous dilution using visual clarity and conductivity checks, while TEM and DLS confirmed nanoscale droplets. The work yielded 24 phase diagrams, 60 dilution tests, and one stable, clear O/W microemulsion formulation.
Outcome: The client obtained a clear O/W microemulsion with confirmed droplet size, widened dilution tolerance, and a phase-diagram package supporting further composition tuning.
A nanosuspension contains submicron solid drug particles dispersed in a liquid medium and stabilized with polymers, surfactants, or a combination of both. A microemulsion is a thermodynamically stable, isotropic system containing oil, water, surfactant, and often a cosurfactant, with the active mainly solubilized within its microscopic domains. Nanosuspensions are often considered when high drug loading and retention of the solid drug phase are important. Microemulsions are more suitable when the active has useful solubility in an oil or interfacial system. Selection depends on solid-state properties, oil solubility, target concentration, excipient constraints, dilution behavior, and the intended product format.
Reducing drug crystals to the submicron range increases the surface area available for wetting and dissolution and may also increase saturation solubility at the particle interface. Nanosuspensions can therefore support high drug loading without requiring large quantities of organic cosolvents or oil. However, a small mean particle size alone does not guarantee satisfactory performance. Stabilizer adsorption, particle-size distribution, crystal-form changes, aggregation, Ostwald ripening, sedimentation, and redispersibility can all affect the formulation. Development should evaluate D10, D50, D90, PDI, solid-state behavior, dissolution, sediment structure, and particle growth during storage to confirm that the nanoscale advantage is maintained.
Development typically begins by measuring active solubility in candidate oils, surfactants, cosurfactants, and aqueous phases. Pseudoternary phase diagrams are then constructed at several surfactant-to-cosurfactant ratios to identify oil-in-water, water-in-oil, bicontinuous, and multiphase regions. Candidate formulations should not be selected from visual clarity alone. Drug loading, conductivity, droplet or domain size, viscosity, dilution response, temperature sensitivity, precipitation, and chemical stability should also be compared. A lead composition is preferably positioned within a reasonably broad microemulsion region rather than close to a phase boundary, reducing sensitivity to minor composition changes, water uptake, evaporation, or temperature variation.
BOC Sciences reviews aqueous and oil solubility, pKa, logP or logD, melting behavior, crystal form, chemical stability, target concentration, administration route, dosage form, and excipient constraints. Nanosuspensions are commonly evaluated for compounds that require high drug loading, can remain as solid particles, and are suitable for milling or controlled precipitation. Microemulsions may be considered when the active shows useful solubility in appropriate oils and surfactant systems. When the available data do not clearly favor one platform, small-scale parallel feasibility studies can compare loading, particle or phase behavior, dilution stability, dissolution, and processing risks before a development direction is selected.
Useful starting information includes the compound structure, salt or free form, known solid form, solubility, pKa, logP or logD, melting point, chemical stability, and available API quantity. Clients should also describe the target concentration, administration route, intended dosage form, preferred or restricted excipients, existing formulation composition, preparation method, and any observed sedimentation, aggregation, precipitation, phase separation, or redispersion problems. Missing information does not prevent an initial discussion. BOC Sciences can propose targeted characterization and feasibility experiments based on the project objective. For existing prototypes, historical particle-size, dissolution, stability, and process data help identify the most important variables efficiently.
BOC Sciences replied quickly and kept our project moving from the first call to delivery. Questions about stabilizer choice and milling conditions were answered the same week, which helped us stay on schedule.
— Dr. Nelson, Formulation Project Lead
The nanosuspension work was executed carefully, with clear method notes and characterization data we could repeat. Particle size and redispersibility were exactly as described in the report.
— Dr. Scott, Senior Pharmaceutical Scientist
Their team understood colloid behavior and explained why each stabilizer or surfactant was chosen. That scientific reasoning gave us confidence in the microemulsion direction we selected.
— Dr. Robinson, Colloid Science Researcher
We received consistent, well-characterized microemulsions that performed in our dilution and stability tests. The documentation made it easy to hand the work to our downstream team.
— Dr. Thompson, R&D Manager, Topical Products
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