Influence of powder properties of pharmaceutical ingredients on continuous tablet manufacturing
Significance Continuous manufacturing is the future trend in tablet manufacturing.In order to accelerate the development of continuous tablet manufacturing,this article analyzes the influence of powder properties of pharmaceutical ingredients on con-tinuous manufacturing.An in-depth understanding of powder properties enhances tablet quality,as well as the efficiency and homogeneity of continuous tablet manufacturing.Progress So far,three main methods of continuous tablet manufacturing have improved production capability:continuous direct compression,continuous wet granulation,and continuous dry granulation.Among these,due to the limited number of unit operations involved,continuous direct compression has become the most popular method of continuous tablet manufacturing.Compared to batch manufacturing,continuous tablet manufacturing integrates unit operations,including loss-in-weight feeders,continuous mixers,continuous tablet press,roller compactor,twin-screw granulation(TSG),and fluidized bed drying.The powder properties of pharmaceutical ingredients play a pivotal role in these unit operations,affecting flow behavior and tablet quality.During the continuous direct compression process,the physical properties of the powder,such as density,particle size,and particle shape,affect the flowability of powders,which in turn impacts feedability,mixing uniformity,and hence the drug content of the final tablet.Flowability can be characterized by emerging technologies such as shear testing or traditional static tests,such as the angle of repose and Carr's index.The compression mechanism of the material,such as brittle or plastic defor-mation,moisture content,and crystal habit,affects the compressibility and compactibility of the material.Powders with good compressibility and compactibility can be used to obtain tablets with a smooth appearance and sufficient hardness through appro-priate process parameters.Compressibility and compactability can be evaluated using mathematical equations such as Heckel's equation,Shapiro's equation,Ryshkewitch-Duckworth's equation,and others.Continuous dry granulation is suitable for mois-ture-and heat-sensitive materials,and the effect of roller compactor process parameters on ribbon density and particle size needs to be emphasized.In addition,the process may lead to loss of tabletability.Continuous TSG has great potential due to its high efficiency,flexibility,and improved tabletability of granules.The properties of the binder and process parameters,such as screw speed and liquid-solid ratio,affect the particle size of the granules,as well as tablet porosity,disintegration time,and hardness.TSG is always integrated with a fluidized bed dryer,resulting in a controlled and homogeneous drying process,which greatly improves product quality and production efficiency.Process analytical technology(PAT)is a key technology for continu-ous manufacturing,including near-infrared spectroscopy,Raman spectroscopy,microwave resonance,focused beam reflectiv-ity measurement,and other technologies.With PAT tools,the critical quality attributes of powders and tablets in each unit operation,such as drug content,moisture content,particle size,and other properties,can be monitored in real time.Conclusions and Prospects Continuous tablet manufacturing is gaining increasing recognition in the pharmaceutical industry due to its high efficiency,flexibility,and reduced floor space.However,research on material properties has mainly focused on individual unit operations in batch manufacturing processes.Researchers have proposed requirements for the powder properties of materials,especially flowability.It is considered that,for pharmaceutical powders with variable properties,comprehensive powder characterizations should be carried out to predict their flowability and compression behavior during the process.A mate-rial property library needs to be established to classify the materials,which is conducive to selecting appropriate process param-eters,optimizing process performance,and enhancing formulation design for continuous manufacturing.In addition,a complete material library facilitates the identification of materials with similar properties and reduces the workload of subsequent develop-ment.Modeling the predictive effects of powder properties on unit operations and end product quality can reduce various issues,such as sticking,capping,and bridging,that occur in continuous manufacturing due to poor powder properties.
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维普
