3D simulation of internal tablet strength during tableting.

This study presents a new approach to model powder compression during tableting. The purpose of this study is to introduce a new discrete element simulation model for particle-particle bond formation during tablet compression. This model served as the basis for calculating tablet strength distribution during a compression cycle. Simulated results were compared with real tablets compressed from microcrystalline cellulose/theophylline pellets with various compression forces. Simulated and experimental compression forces increased similarly. Tablet-breaking forces increased with the calculated strengths obtained from the simulations. The calculated bond strength distribution inside the tablets showed features similar to those of the density and pressure distributions in the literature. However, the bond strength distributions at the center of the tablets varied considerably between individual tablets.

Effective modification of particle surface properties using ultrasonic water mist.

The goal of the present study was to design a new technique to modify particle surface properties and, through that, to improve flowability of poorly flowing drug thiamine hydrochloride and pharmaceutical sugar lactose monohydrate of two different grades. The powdered particles were supplied by a vibratory feeder and exposed to an instantaneous effect of water mist generated from an ultrasound nebulizer. The processed and original powders were evaluated with respect to morphology (scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and spatial filtering technique), flow, and solid state properties. It was found that rapid exposition of pharmaceutical materials by water mist resulted in the improvement of powder technical properties. The evident changes in flowability of coarser lactose were obviously due to smoothing of particle surface and decreasing in the level of fines with very slight increment in particle size. The changes in thiamine powder flow were mainly due to narrowing in particle size distribution where the tendency for better flow of finer lactose was related to surface and size modifications. The aqueous mist application did not cause any alteration of the crystal structures of the studied materials. The proposed water mist treatment technique appears to be a robust, rapid, and promising tool for the improvement of the technological properties of pharmaceutical powders.

Multivariate data analysis as a fast tool in evaluation of solid state phenomena.

A thorough understanding of solid state properties is of growing importance. It is often necessary to apply multiple techniques offering complementary information to fully understand the solid state behavior of a given compound and the relations between various polymorphic forms. The vast amount of information generated can be overwhelming and the need for more effective data analysis tools is well recognized. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of multivariate data analysis, in particular principal component analysis (PCA), for fast analysis of solid state information. The data sets analyzed covered dehydration phenomena of a set of hydrates followed by variable temperature X-ray powder diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy and the crystallization of amorphous lactose monitored by Raman spectroscopy. Identification of different transitional states upon the dehydration enabled the molecular level interpretation of the structural changes related to the loss of water, as well as interpretation of the phenomena related to the crystallization. The critical temperatures or critical time points were identified easily using the principal component analysis. The variables (diffraction angles or wavenumbers) that changed could be identified by the careful interpretation of the loadings plots. The PCA approach provides an effective tool for fast screening of solid state information.