granulation_8 Flashcards
what is granulation
size enlargement process during which (in the presence of a binder liquid or compressive forces) fine powders or particulate are bound together to produce physically larger aggregates of sufficient integrity but the original constituents can still be identifies
why do we granulate
- improve flowability
- reduce segregation tendency
- improve compactability
- reduce dust
methods of granulation
- direct compression
- thermoplastic granulation
- wet granulation
- dry granulation
direct compression
- most efficient method to prepare free flowing powders for tableting, mix and blend, without additional step to increase particle size
- suitable for materials with suitable flow, narrow size distribution, minimal segregation and good compressibility
dry granulation
- aka slugging, which produce ‘poor quality’ tablets, showing wide variability in weight and hardness due to poor flow of pre mix into dies
- powdered tableting pre-mix are blended well and compressed into large tablets or slugs of 25mm or larger, using heavy duty compaction machines (4-6 ton)
roller compaction
- efficient dry granulation process capable of continuous production
- homogenously mixed powder blend passed between two counter-rotating rollers and the compact (flake/ribbon/briquette) formed can be milled into granules
advantage of roller compaction
- fewer unit processes, thus lower COP
2. suitable for heat/water sensi materials
bonding mechanism in dry granulations
- particle rearrangement: occurs initially as powder movement begins filling voids, displacing air, increasing powder density (as compression forces increase, deformation increases leading to fracture or bonding)
- particle fragmentation: second stage- higher compression loads, fragmentation of particle leads to new surfaces, increased point of contacts, increasing potential bonding sites
- particle bonding: @ molecular level- van der waals
factor affecting compacting strength
- applied pressure
- extend of air entrapment (use of vacuum system)
- roll dwell time
- powder void fraction (space into which air is compacted)
- particle size of component and density
- type of binders included
- moisture content of material
wet granulation
- most widely used, possible for almost any powder/ mixture provided they are stable to moisture/heat
- hardness and solubility controlled by using suitable binders and granulating agents
purpose of wet granulation
- improve flow properties
- reduce bulk volume, densification
- improve compression properties
- improve distribution of minor constituent (eg. low dose drug, binder, colorant)
- prevent components from segregating
- reduce dust
- minimise or mitigate adverse properties of API (hydrophobicity, bad taste, poor stability)
disadvantage of wet granulation
- additional processing steps, add complexity, cost, extra validation work
- additional time and space needed
- unsuitable for moisture-sensitive or thermolabile drug
- material loss due to additional processing steps
how does small scale wet granulation work?
- blend aPI and excipients
- add granulating liquid to moisten the mass
- pass mixture through screen forming extrudates
- dry at 60 degrees
- re-granulating through screen to mill it down to reasonable sized granules
- compacting to form tablets
agglomerate growth
during wet granulation, with agitation, an eqm exists between crushing and coalescence
- stronger agglomerate coalesce in collision to form bigger ones
- weaker agglomerates are often crushed- fragments or fines which either re-enter cycle of nucleation coalescence or be picked up by bigger agglomerats by layering
TLDR: if eqm favours (with impact force/ addition of liquid) the coalescence (forming) mechanism, the agglomerate grows
liquid saturation
ratio of pore volume occupied by liquid to the total pores within the agglomerate