Particle Engineering of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for Improved Micromeritic Properties

A range of particle engineering techniques were applied to modify unfavorable bulk solid properties of an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), with the solid state form of the compound remaining constant. The compound under investigation has been hitherto crystallized as needle-like particles, leading to poor powder-flow properties, ineffective processing and problematic formulation behavior. The results show that design and optimization of a cooling crystallization procedure as well as application of alternative approaches, i.e. spherical agglomeration, additive-controlled crystallization or ultrasonication can effectively improve solid-state properties of the studied compound. The improvements were quantified by measuring bulk density, flowability and comparing the jet-milling behavior.