{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,5]],"date-time":"2026-07-05T16:47:22Z","timestamp":1783270042211,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,19]],"date-time":"2022-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1652918400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"UniCA-Progetti biennali di Ateneo Finanziati dalla Fondazione di Sardegna","award":["CUP F74I19000950007"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CUP F74I19000950007"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Needle-free liquid jet injectors are medical devices used to administer pharmaceutical solutions through the skin. Jet injectors generate a high-speed stream of liquid medication that can puncture the skin and deliver the drug to the underlying tissues. In this work, we investigated the feasibility of using liquid jet injectors to administer nanosuspensions, assessing the impact of the jet injection on their pharmaceutical and physicochemical properties. For this purpose, the model drug diclofenac was used to prepare a set of nanosuspensions, stabilized by poloxamer 188, and equilibrated at different pHs. The hydrodynamic diameter and morphology of the nanocrystals were analyzed before and after the jet injection across porcine skin in vitro, together with the solubility and release kinetics of diclofenac in a simulated subcutaneous environment. The efficacy of the jet injection (i.e., the amount of drug delivered across the skin) was evaluated for the nanosuspension and for a solution, which was used as a control. Finally, the nanosuspension was administered to rats by jet injector, and the plasma profile of diclofenac was evaluated and compared to the one obtained by jet injecting a solution with an equal concentration. The nanosuspension features were maintained after the jet injection in vitro, suggesting that no structural changes occur upon high-speed impact with the skin. Accordingly, in vivo studies demonstrated the feasibility of jet injecting a nanosuspension, reaching relevant plasma concentration of the drug. Overall, needle-free jet injectors proved to be a suitable alternative to conventional syringes for the administration of nanosuspensions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics14051085","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,20]],"date-time":"2022-05-20T00:18:11Z","timestamp":1653005891000},"page":"1085","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Needle-Free Jet Injectors and Nanosuspensions: Exploring the Potential of an Unexpected Pair"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7214-9045","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michele","family":"Schlich","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9508-7222","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Casula","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aurora","family":"Musa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rosa","family":"Pireddu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2078-2148","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Pitzanti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Queen\u2019s University Belfast, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2788-7823","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Cristina","family":"Cardia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Donatella","family":"Valenti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salvatore","family":"Marceddu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto di Scienze delle Produzioni Alimentari (ISPA)-CNR, Sez. di Sassari, 07040 Baldinca, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Maria","family":"Fadda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2647-4859","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Antonietta","family":"De Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09042 Monserrato, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8383-5895","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiara","family":"Sinico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Lai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell\u2019Ambiente, Sezione di Scienze del Farmaco, CNBS, Universit\u00e0 degli Studi di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Schlich, M., Primavera, R., Lai, F., Sinico, C., and Decuzzi, P. 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