Formulation Development in the Pharmaceutical (Pharma) Industry

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The "hand squeeze" test.

• Is this the technology you use to determine the correct powder to liquid binder ratio?

• Is this acceptable for the 21st century pharmaceutical industry?

Binder / substrate interactions & pharmaceutical (pharma) formulation development.

• The amount of binder added to powder to make the wet mass and the mixing time have a large influence on the final characteristics of pharmaceutical formulations.
• Get the formulation right before you spheronise!
• The correct binder/substrate ratio is vital. The optimum mixing time saves costs.
• There are three main ways available to determine the optimum ratio and mix time:- 

1. Adding binder and testing by “eye and hand” to reach a estimated optimum ratio. Obvious limitations and no reproducability.
2. The systematic investigation of a range of possible options with subsequent. testing of the final characteristics of tablets and spheroids (pellets)  produced. A project of several days duration
3. Using the Caleva Mixer Torque Rheometer-3 and obtaining a quantifiable optimum ratio “within an hour”.

Using the Caleva Mixer Torque Rheometer is the only method that is objective, quantifiable and can be completed with a minimum of time. The result is that a greater number of possible options can be investigated with the same resources.