Pharmaceutical Technology-05-01-2008

Recent advances in SEM, particularly the incorporation of automation and software, have made simpler, lower-end SEM instruments easy to operate and have improved the capabilities of larger, sophisticated instruments.

The current trend within the pharmaceutical industry toward more efficient development, manufacturing, and specification is fueling demand for analytical tools that provide highly relevant information. Effective powder characterization has a valuable role to play.

Paul Sheskey of Dow Chemical provides an update on foam granulation technology.

Inspecting punches and dies can be time-consuming and costly for tablet manufacturers. Advances in technology, however, have greatly improved in-process inspections. The author examines improvements in equipment and computer software for in-process tool inspections.

Process designs and control strategies can be improved by adopting a risk-based approach to product quality. The author describes how this approach can be applied to spray-drying operations.

Traditional tablet presses do not measure tablets' tensile strength, yet this characteristic strongly influences tablet quality. The author describes a compression technique that accounts for tensile strength and produces tablets with consistent weight and disintegration time.