13.07.2015 Views

Development of hot-melt extrusion as a novel technique for the ...

Development of hot-melt extrusion as a novel technique for the ...

Development of hot-melt extrusion as a novel technique for the ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

homogenize but also compress <strong>the</strong> extrudate to ensure <strong>the</strong> molten material reaches <strong>the</strong> finalsection <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> barrel (metering zone) in a <strong>for</strong>m appropriate <strong>for</strong> processing. Finally <strong>the</strong> finalsection which is known <strong>as</strong> <strong>the</strong> metering zone stabilizes <strong>the</strong> effervescent flow <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> matrix andensures <strong>the</strong> extruded product h<strong>as</strong> a uni<strong>for</strong>m thickness, shape and size. A constant and steadyuni<strong>for</strong>m screw flight depth and pitch helps maintain continuous high pressure ensuring a uni<strong>for</strong>mdelivery rate <strong>of</strong> extrudates through <strong>the</strong> <strong>extrusion</strong> die and hence a uni<strong>for</strong>m extruded product.Fig. 1.3: Screw geometry (<strong>extrusion</strong>) [9] .In addition to <strong>the</strong> above mentioned systems, downstream auxiliary equipment <strong>for</strong>cooling, cutting, collecting <strong>the</strong> finished product is also typically employed. M<strong>as</strong>s flow feeders toaccurately meter materials into <strong>the</strong> feed hopper, pelletizers, spheronizer, roller/calendaringdevice in order to produce continuous films and process analytical technology such <strong>as</strong> near infrared(NIR) and Raman, ultra sound, DSC systems are also options. Throughout <strong>the</strong> wholeprocess, <strong>the</strong> temperature in all zones are normally controlled by electrical heating bands andmonitored by <strong>the</strong>rmocouples.The single screw <strong>extrusion</strong> system is simple and <strong>of</strong>fers lots <strong>of</strong> advantages but still doesnot acquire <strong>the</strong> mixing capability <strong>of</strong> a twin-screw machine and <strong>the</strong>re<strong>for</strong>e is not <strong>the</strong> preferredapproach <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> production <strong>of</strong> most pharmaceutical <strong>for</strong>mulations. Moreover, a twin-screwextruder <strong>of</strong>fers much greater versatility (process manipulation and optimisation) inaccommodating a wider range <strong>of</strong> pharmaceutical <strong>for</strong>mulations making this set-up much moreconstructive. The rotation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> screws inside <strong>the</strong> extruder barrel may ei<strong>the</strong>r be co-rotating5 | P a g e

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!