Malvern Instruments will participate in the scientific poster sessions at this year's Drug Delivery to the Lungs conference,held on 10-12 December, Edinburgh, Scotland.
The company will present two studies demonstrating the application of the Morphologi G3 and Spraytec particle characterisation systems to different aspects of inhaled product testing.
One study indicates that the Morphologi G3 fully automated particle characterisation system slashes the time taken to accurately quantify foreign particulate matter (FPM) in pharmaceutical inhalation products.
FPM is contaminating-material introduced during the manufacturing process or generated by abrasion or shearing during device activation.
Its presence in inhalation products is strictly regulated so measuring FPM levels is an important QC activity.
The Morphologi G3 can successfully replace manual microscopy for quantifying FPM, reducing measurement times from about one day to less than one hour.
The analysis provides detailed information on particle morphology that makes it easier to determine the contamination source.
In the second study, undertaken collaboratively with Melbourne Scientific and Copley Scientific, Malvern's Spraytec laser diffraction particle size analyser was used to investigate the impact of rheological properties on nebuliser performance.
Outputs from a breath-assisted jet nebuliser were examined under different breathing profiles, for a series of different viscosity solutions.
The results indicate structure in the fluid has a marked effect on the particle size and concentration of the delivered aerosol, providing insight for optimising device and formulation.
