Influence of polytetrafluoroethylene on spheroid production by rotary processing

Abstract

During rotary processing, material adhesion on the product chamber wall sometimes occurs. The wall of the chamber can be lined with a layer of polytetrafiuoroethylene to reduce material adhesion. This study examined the influence of the polytetrafluoroethylene lining on spheroid production using lactose of two different mean particle sizes. The mean size of spheroids obtained from runs conducted when the chamber wall was unlined and lined with polytetrafluoroethylene were compared. The effect of the polytetrafluoroethylene lining was only marginal for formulations containing Pharmatose 200M (lactose monohydrate). For Pharmatose lOOM, larger spheroids were formed at equivalent moistening levels when the chamber wall was lined with polytetrafluoroethylene. The softer, low-friction surface and non-stick properties of the polytetrafiuoroethylene lining aid in protecting the more fragile microcrystalline cellulose:lactose 100M agglomerates from fragmentation, enabling them to grow comparatively larger than similarly produced spheroids without a polytetrafiuoroethylene lining.