Investigating the flow behaviour of pharmaceutical blends using shear cell methodology

Powder flow properties are critical bulk level features for the manufacturing of solid dosage forms. Small-scale powder flow measurements are also widely accepted as a tool for predicting large-scale production failure. The aim of this study is to explore the flow properties of a two-component powder mixture and investigate the effect of mixing two powders with different properties on the flow properties parameters. To achieve this aim, 12 blends were prepared using an acoustic mixer (Labram). The flow properties were studied using rotational shear cell methodology. The results showed that the addition of Micr APAP into the excipients with good flow properties significantly increased the flow resistance of the prepared blends and consequently reduced their flow properties. The main driving factor in determining the flow properties is the particle size of the blend’s components. The results of this study suggest that it is very important to measure the flow properties of any pharmaceutical blends and not depend only on the flow properties of the original components before mixing.