Statistical Investigation of Rotary Fluidized Bed Agglomeration Process with Tangential Spray and In-Line Particle Size Measurement for PAT Process Control

A statistical design of experiments for a rotary fluidized bed agglomeration process is performed to improve both the knowledge of the process and the influence of the process parameters. Agglomerates of a pharmaceutical formulation are manufactured in a laboratory fluidized bed rotor apparatus with a tangential spray nozzle. Particle size is measured in-line over the entire agglomeration process with a spatial filter velocimetry probe installed directly in the process chamber and off-line with dynamic image analysis for comparison. The influence of the process parameters spray rate, spray pressure, rotor speed, and process air temperature on the fluidized bed is investigated using a central composite design. In-line measurement of particle size is possible over the entire rotor process. Spray pressure, spray rate, square of process air temperature, and some interactions proved to be statistically significant. Particle size measured with spatial filter velocimetry and dynamic image analysis indicates good agreement and a similar trend. The successful application of particle size measurement in a fluidized bed rotor agglomeration at a laboratory scale using spatial filter velocimetry to improve process control and reduce the risk of failed batches serves as the basis for transferring to a production scale.

2.1. Materials

Microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel^® PH101, FMC International, Cork, Ireland, median 110 μm) is used as a solid material and filling agent in the agglomeration process. The agglomeration fluid is prepared with three components dissolved in purified water (Table 1). The model drug substance (API) and preservative sodium benzoate (S3 Chemicals, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) shows several advantages for the experimental program. It is easily soluble in water and simple methods such as UV-VIS spectroscopy can be used for chemical analysis. The binders polyvinylpyrrolidone (Povidon K 25, Carl Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany) and macrogol 6000 (polyethylene glycol 6000, Clariant, Muttenz, Switzerland) guarantee suitable agglomeration and formation of a stable granulate known from earlier investigations. All substances refer to European Pharmacopoeia quality [27].

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Langner, M.; Zhou, B.; Priese, F.; Wolf, B. Statistical Investigation of Rotary Fluidized Bed Agglomeration Process with Tangential Spray and In-Line Particle Size Measurement for PAT Process Control. Processes 2023, 11, 1066.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11041066

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