Analysis of curing of a sustained release coating formulation by application of NIR spectroscopy to monitor changes associated with glyceryl monostearate.

ABSTRACT

For controlled release, latex or pseudolatex coatings to function as designed, it must be cured at temperatures at or slightly above the polymer's glass transition temperature. The focus of this study is to develop an understanding of the curing process and to develop near infrared spectroscopy as a tool for monitoring curing. Differential scanning calorimetry studies were used to determine how the thermal properties of glyceryl monostearate (GMS) and its polymorphic forms relate to the extent of Eudragit® polymer coat curing at different curing temperatures. The different GMS melting endotherms were used to monitor the extent of curing and as references for model development. The calculated melting peak areas for the GMS were plotted versus time and found to be dependent on time and temperature used for curing. Principal component analysis and parallel factor analysis were used to investigate the effect of curing on the films and showed that spectral changes could be could be directly related to the changes associated with the GMS during curing. Partial least square models developed could predict the extent of curing and the final state of GMS post curing.