Tablets & Capsules

TC0514

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T 28 May 2014 Tablets & Capsules powder flow Relating flow properties to process behavior in tablet presses and capsule filling machines Kerry Johanson Material Flow Solutions The standard methods used to model and predict flow behavior were developed years ago for large-scale bins, hoppers, and silos. When applied to the very small scale typical of tablet presses and capsule fillers, those methods frequently over-predict prob- lems. This article offers an approach to help you better measure the flow properties of the small-scale operations common to the pharmaceutical industry. wo key unit operations in the pharmaceutical indus- try—capsule filling and tabletting—use machines that comprise many separate systems that must interact in order to introduce a bulk API-excipient mixture into a small-diameter, small volume space. And they must do so repeatedly and quickly while ensuring that each tablet or capsule weighs what it should and meets other well- defined, FDA-regulated quality attributes. Consider the typical rotary tablet press. It comprises a surge hopper, a long feed chute, a feed frame, and a series of die filling and compaction stations. The behavior of a given mixture or granulation as it passes through each of these sections must be understood and optimized to gen- erate a high-quality product. Keep in mind that tablets and capsules are very small compared with the size of the overall operation, including the bins and hoppers that hold powders until they reach the tablet press or capsule filler. In fact, even the hoppers that hold the materials during operation are small compared to the hoppers typi- h-Johanart_28-32_Masters 5/14/14 12:32 PM Page 28

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