Papers
How to gain a full understanding of powder flow properties, and the benefits of doing so - 2019
Lumay G, Tripathi NM, Francqui F, “How to Gain a Full Understanding of Powder Flow Properties, and the Benefits of Doing so”. ONdrugDelivery Magazine, Issue 102 (Nov 2019), pp 42-46.
Granular materials, fine powders and nanostructured powders have wide applications in pharma, including in oral tablets and capsules, and in inhalation. A robust manufacturing process involving powder requires reliable powder-flow properties. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical powders are usually cohesive and so a deep understanding of the forces acting between the grains is necessary.
Here, they show how spray-dried powders can be characterized before and after granulation with recently developed measurement devices to predict the processability. According to the spray-drying method, in particular according to the nozzle characteristics, the obtained powder is processable or not. They discuss how the granulation step modifies powder flow behaviour. In particular, they focus on two granulation methods: high shear granulation (HSG) and fluid-bed top-spray granulation (FBG).