The influence of plate design on the properties of pellets produced by extrusion and spheronization.

The aim of this work was to produce pellets using a standard formulation by means of extrusion and spheronization. Three different spheroniser friction plate patterns (i.e. cross-hatch, radial, striated edge pattern) have been used in order to investigate whether the plate pattern affects physical properties of the pellets such as pellet size distribution, yield, shape, mechanical strength, density and drug dissolution. Extrusion was performed with a screen extruder and the screen size was varied to determine whether the extrudate produced could affect the physical properties of pellets. The plate load was also varied. Diclofenac sodium was chosen as a model drug. The pattern of the friction plate used in the spheronization of extrudates affected the properties of the pellets. Yield values varied by up to 20%, and for an otherwise optimised formulation the use of a striated edge plate appeared advantageous in this respect. However, these pellets had a reduced mechanical strength despite their lower porosity, which might be disadvantageous. In addition, other factors such as the amount of extrudate loaded into the spheroniser, the maintenance of a constant moisture content within the spheroniser and the size of the extruder screen influenced these findings significantly. The only physical property of the pellets that did not respond to the various changes in the manufacturing process of the pellets is the pellet shape, which remained spherical. The dissolution of the drug appeared to be related to the median pellet size and was only marginally affected by changes in the spheronization process.

The preparation of pellets containing a surfactant or a mixture of mono- and di-gylcerides by extrusion/spheronization.

The ability to incorporate either of the two components of a self-emulsifying system (polysorbate 80 (PSG80) and a mixture of mono- and di-glycerides (MDG)) separately into pellets prepared by extrusion/spheronization and the properties of any resulting pellets has been investigated. The results have established that it is possible to prepare satisfactory pellets thus adding to the range of ingredients that can be included in pellet formulations. For PS80, it was found possible to prepare pellets containing at least 92% of the surfactant/water mixture, but with a mixture of (MDG) and water, however, it was not possible to prepare pellets, which contained more than 46% of MDG. By analysis of variance significant relationships were established between the ratio of lactose to MCC and the ratio of the PS80 or MDG to water and the properties of the pellets. There were both similarities and differences of the two input factors, which provided relationships for the two materials. The quantity of liquid required, the fluid content of the pellets, the tensile strength and porosity of the pellets provided relationships for both systems, whereas the extrusion force and the median pellet size gave relationships for the PS80 systems, but they did not for the MDG systems. The opposite was true for interquartile range (IQR), the yield in the modal fraction and the shape factor. It was possible to identify global relationships for these systems and those reported previously, when the two components were combined as a self-emulsifying system, by the application of perceptual mapping. It was found that, there were relationships between the size range, expressed as the IQR and the fluid level required to make pellets; the quantity of the non-aqueous component of the fluid and the pellet shape factor; the extrusion force and the tensile strength of the pellets and the yield in the modal fraction and the ratio of the non-aqueous to aqueous content of the fluid used to prepare the pellets. The ability to use the materials independently offers further alternatives for the formulation of water insoluble drugs into pellet formulations.

Preparation of extruded carbamazepine and PEG 4000 as a potential rapid release dosage form.

The aim of this research was to use a ram extruder to prepare directly a fast release dosage form with uniform shape and density, containing carbamazepine (C) as a water-insoluble drug and polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG) as a low melting binder. The potential inclusion of lactose (L) as a hydrophilic filler was also considered. The temperature suitable to ensure a successful extrusion process of several formulations containing PEG in different percentages was found to be below the melting point of the PEG. The influence of composition on the extrusion process of different ram speeds was checked by measuring the pressure at the steady state, the apparent shear rate and the apparent shear stress of a range of mixtures of drug, lactose and PEG. The physical-mechanical properties of extrudates, including tensile strength and Young's modulus, prepared with different ram velocities were also determined. The solid-state physical structure by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was established. The dissolution of the extrudates and their corresponding physical mixtures were compared. The mixtures were found to be shear thinning when extruded; the tensile strength of extrudates was dependent on the composition but not the extrusion rate, while the value of Young's modulus was strongly influenced by the rate of extrusion, but less affected by the composition of the extrudates. The results of DSC and XRD indicated that the solid structure of the extrudates corresponded to that of a physical mixture of the components, hence there had been no change in the physical form of the drug induced by extrusion. In terms of dissolution, the rate of the extrusion process did not influence the performance of the products, whereas the composition did. The extruded mixtures of an equivalent composition exhibited a more rapid release than a simple physical mixture. The addition of lactose reduced the dissolution rate.