Engineering of Pharmaceutical Particles : Modulation of Particle Structural Properties, Solid-State Stability and Tabletting Behaviour by the Drying Process

• Relationships between stresses during the drying process, particle structural and functional properties, and particle engineering by the drying process were addressed in this thesis. In the first part, the importance of the drying phase and the effect of the drying rate on the intragranular porosity of microcrystalline cellulose pellets were investigated. Differences in porosities of dried pellets could be explained by liquid-related differences in densification during convective drying rather than by differences in densification during wet agglomeration. An increased drying rate gave more porous pellets with a lower compression shear strength, and thereby stronger tablets. The next part dealt with modulation of solid-state stability and tabletting behaviour of amorphous lactose by incorporation of different polymers by spray drying. Increased content and molecular weight of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) resulted in an increased resistance to crystallisation provoked by heat and moisture. The stabilising effect was even more evident after long-term storage. However, the glass transition temperature was almost unaffected and may, therefore, be questioned as a stability indicator for these types of materials. The presence of the polymers resulted in somewhat less deformable particles. Incorporation of PVP increased the compactability, whilst a surfactant decreased it, which could be shown to be related to differences in particle-particle adhesivity between the different particles. This thesis contributes to increased mechanistic understanding in the area of particle engineering that may lead to better prediction and optimisation of the functionality of pharmaceutical particles, which is of the utmost importance in the development and production of solid dosage forms.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Farmaceutiska vetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Pharmaceutical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Pharmaceutics

particle engineering

microcrystalline cellulose pellets

intragranular porosity

convective drying

tabletting behaviour

spray-dried composite particles

amorphous lactose

PVP

heat and moisture-induced crystallisation

glass transition temperature

Galenisk farmaci

Pharmaceutics

Galenisk farmaci

galenisk farmaci

Pharmaceutics

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)