A predictive transport model for convective drying of polymer strip films loaded with a BCS Class II drug

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2019

Abstract

Drying is an important unit operation in the manufacturing of polymer strip films as it affects various film quality attributes. Optimal design and control of convective drying process require models that capture the impact of critical process parameters such as air temperature and velocity on the temporal evolution of film thickness and moisture. Here, a detailed transport model was presented to capture moisture diffusion, heat transfer and moving boundary in convective drying of polymer strip films loaded with griseofulvin (GF), a poorly water-soluble drug. It incorporates a solvent diffusivity model based on free-volume theory. Experimentally, film precursor suspensions were prepared by mixing silica-coated and micronized GF powder with an aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)–glycerin. Films were cast and moisture–time variation during drying was measured. The transport model, whose diffusivity parameters were estimated using drying data at a reference condition, was validated at different drying conditions and wet film thicknesses. It delineates underlying mechanisms of drying kinetics and demarcates a smooth transition from constant-rate to falling-rate period. Overall, our results suggest that the transport model is capable of predicting the temporal evolution of moisture and final film thickness at different drying air velocities and temperatures with reasonable accuracy.

Identifier

85062356897 (Scopus)

Publication Title

European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2019.02.023

e-ISSN

18733441

ISSN

09396411

PubMed ID

30826474

First Page

164

Last Page

174

Volume

137

Grant

NIH-U01

Fund Ref

National Science Foundation

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