Physico-Mechanical Properties of Coprocessed Excipient MicroceLac® 100 by DM(3) Approach.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of relative humidity (RH) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) on the physico-mechanical properties of coprocessed MacroceLac(®) 100 using 'DM(3)' approach. METHODS: Effects of RH and 5% w/w HPMC on MacroceLac(®) 100 Compressibility Index (CI) and tablet mechanical strength (TMS) were evaluated by 'DM(3)'. The 'DM(3)' approach evaluates material properties by combining 'design of experiments', material's 'macroscopic' properties, 'molecular' properties, and 'multivariate analysis' tools. A 4X4 full-factorial experimental design was used to study the relationship of MacroceLac(®) 100 molecular properties (moisture content, dehydration, crystallization, fusion enthalpy, and moisture uptake) and macroscopic particle size and shape on CI and TMS. A physical binary mixture (PBM) of similar composition to MacroceLac(®) 100 was also evaluated. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principle component analysis, and partial least squares (PLS) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: MANOVA CI ranking was: PBM-HPMC > PBM > MicroceLac(®)100 > MicroceLac(®)100-HPMC (p < 0.0001). MANOVA showed PBM's and PBM-HPMC's TMS values were lower than MicroceLac(®)100 and MicroceLac(®)100-HPMC (p < 0.0001). PLS showed that % RH, HPMC, and several molecular properties significantly affected CI and TMS. CONCLUSIONS: Significant MicroceLac(®)100 changes occurred with % RH exposure affecting performance attributes. HPMC physical addition did not prevent molecular or macroscopic matrix changes.

Evaluation of the moisture prediction capability of near-infrared and attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy using superdisintegrants as model compounds.

The superdisintegrants (SDs) moisture content measurement by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy has been evaluated against thermogravimetric analysis as a reference method. SDs with varying moisture content were used to build calibration and independent model verification data sets. Calibration models were developed based on the water-specific NIR and ATR-FTIR spectral regions using partial least-square regression methods. Because of the NIR water low molar absorptivity, NIR spectroscopy handled higher moisture content (∼81%, w/w) than ATR-FTIR (∼25%, w/w). A two-way ANOVA test was performed to compare R(2) values obtained from measured and predicted moisture content (5%-25%, w/w) of SDs. No statistically significant difference was observed between the predictability of NIR and ATR-FTIR methods (p = 0.3504). However, the interactions between the two independent variables, SDs, and analytical methods were statistically significant (p = 0.0002), indicating that the predictability of the analytical method is material dependent. Thus, it would be important to recognize this highly dependent material and analytical method interaction when using NIR moisture analysis in process analytical technology to analyze and control critical quality and performance attributes of raw materials during processing with the goal of ensuring final product quality attributes.