IMPACT PELLETIZATION PROCESS: A SIMPLE AND NOVEL TECHNIQUE TO OBTAIN INERT PELLETS / NONPAREIL SEEDS FOR DRUG LAYERING AND POLYMER COATING SO AS TO OBTAIN IMMEDIATE AND EXTENDED RELEASE PELLETS RESPECTIVELY.

摘要

A novel pelletization technology in which the pelletizing material is taken in the form an aqueous based slurry. Using newly developed equipment named as "impact pelletizer", the slurry taken in the impact vessel is discharged in the form of spherical droplets when the vessel is hit hard over the perforated base plate to create impact. The discharged slurry droplets which acquire spherical shape due to surface tension property of the liquid are then collected in a receiver vessel containing a solution meant for hardening of those spherical droplets, thus transforming them into the so called inert pellets. These pellets are isolated from the hardening solution and washed with a suitable solvent. Such inert pellets now can be used for drug loading either by existing solution, suspension or powder layering technique. The impact pelletizer is a unique piece of equipment enabling the pellet production by a novel principle. The impact force has been successfully used to produce the agglomerates of the pellet material and the same have been transformed into the inert spherical shape beads during the free fall along the gravity duet to the surface tension property of the liquid. The spheronization step which otherwise need a substantial time to complete, can be completed in the fraction of second using the new technology.