Scale Transfer in Pharmaceutical Compression

Scale Transfer in Pharmaceutical Compression: from compaction simulators to rotary presses

Sponsor: German Research Foundation (DFG)

Contact person: Ben Kohlhaas

Summary of the project:

Compaction simulators are vital for the early formulation and process development of tablets, as they provide a wealth of information with minimal material requirements. The compression and ejection of the tablets have been the main focus so far, despite die filling being the quality-determining factor for a stable process and consistent product properties in large-scale industrial tableting.

The research objective is the characterization of the die filling behavior on a compaction simulator. Material properties such as flowability and particle size, as well as process variables such as production speed, are taken into account. A direct comparison with a rotary tablet press will be used to develop a model for scaling die filling based on the compaction simulator. In a further step, the influence of the filling process on the occurrence of tablet defects will be analyzed.

Goals and tasks at iPAT:

• Characterization of the die filling mechanisms on the compaction simulator and comparison with a rotary press on a laboratory scale
• Influence of the feed shoe geometry on the formulation with regard to residence time and lubricant distribution
• Linking the obtained results with investigations into tablet defects by the project partner

Project partner:

Institut de Mécanique et d’Ingénieries (Universite de Bordeaux)