Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Department

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Committee Chair and Members

Rutesh Dave, Chair

Almas Babar

Avinash Kumar

Devang Patel

Joseph Saddik

Keywords

Glidant optimization, Powder rheology, Punch metal interaction, Sticking index, Tablet compaction, Tablet sticking

Abstract

Two-thirds of all pharmaceutical formulations are delivered orally, and more than half are in the form of a tablet. Tablets are the most popular in terms of both the marketed products and the volume of manufacturing. On the other hand, tablet sticking is an extremely expensive and time-consuming problem that must be addressed. Because of limited tabletpressing cycle runs and incomplete information, trying to predict the sticking propensity of a new formulation has been extremely difficult during early-development batches. A model of drugs, ketoprofen, Acetaminophen, and salicylamide, was used to predict the effect of glidants (Aerosil® 200, Talc, and Syloid® 244) on the occurrence of tablet sticking relative to five unique metals(S7, M340, Chromium Nitride, Zirconium Nitride, Hard Chrome). Glidants amount varied from 0.0% to 2.0 %w/w. Moreover, a decrease in the powder blend’s sticking propensity with appropriate glidant concentration. Five different metal coupons, as well as punches, were used to find sticking propensity. As the sticking propensity rank order was calculated by FT-4 powder rheology, two test methods were the Shear cell test and the wall friction test. Two Powder rheology tests were used to calculate the sticking index (SI) of each formulation. The SI was used to predict the sticking tendency rank order of each formulation for the metal coupon. The results show that the SI can be used to predict tablet sticking in the early stages of drug development, for example, by appropriating the glidant and their percentage, and the proper selection of punch surfaces aid in tablet sticking.

Download

Share

COinS