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Powder Processing

Powder Processing Consultancy

Whether powders are your final product or a part of your manufacturing process, ensuring they have the right properties is crucial to performance. Our experts help you to optimize powder properties and processing steps, and implement improved quality control to maintain your standards. It is critical that your powder processing routes are optimized on the front end to provide maximum yields and the best quality products, whether they are ultimately pressed into a tablet, used in an aerosol, or added to a suspension.

Powder Processing

 

Expert guidance at your disposal - our services

We have extensive experience with powders and provide expert consultancy services, analysis and development of powder-related products. Our optimization services include:

  • Laser Diffraction and SEM for particle size, number, and shape
  • XRF and SEM to analyze chemical composition and purity
  • XRD to understand crystal structure
  • Analyzing and optimizing zeta potential and rheology by changing pH levels and use of additives
  • In depth measurement of “downstream” intermediate products, e.g strength measurement of pressed granulate products and appraisal of powder coating thickness
  • Factorial Experimental Design (FED) to demonstrate strong correlations between powder and end-product properties
  • Design and validation of QC protocols
  • Characterization of particle size, shape, composition and crystallinity
  • Analyzing and optimizing zeta potential and rheology by e.g. changing pH levels and use of additives – critical for suspensions and powder flow
  • Milling protocol development – from nm to mm particle size scale
  • Pilot-scale facilities for powder processing and prototyping

Pilot-scale facilities

We provide pilot scale facilities for the development and optimization of pharmaceutical products. Outsourcing all or part of your product development work allows you to keep internal resources and processing lines at full capacity, while working with Lucideon allows you to access a whole new team of experts, trusted by pharmaceutical manufacturers around the world.

 

Tableting

Our consultancy and supporting testing services help accelerate results at any stage of tableting. Whether it's tableting a formulation for the first time, introducing a new ingredient, solving an issue with current tableting practices, or anything in between.

Milling

An important part of many powder processing lines, optimizing your milling processes can save time, increase yields and, of course, provide the physical properties you need from your ingredients for downstream processing. The milling process, followed by analysis of the output, can take time to perform and to plan effectively. Furthermore, large-scale testing comes with larger clean-down processes, taking even more time out of your live processing lines. Whether you need to keep your lines running or you would benefit from the expertise and added resource, Lucideon can help.

Blending trials

Pharmaceuticals are made up from a complex mix of ingredients, each with their own function for the final product. Achieving the right mix in terms of quantities and distribution is vital to achieving the desired end product. We can help achieve consistency of quality by defining and refining the key parameters through blending trials. Our expert team can also advise the best routes to take to solve any issues that might arise, whether that be in the mechanical blending process, unintended interactions between ingredients, or any other process variable.

Why Lucideon?

We have unrivalled experience in understanding the fundamental material science involved in powder processing and knowing how best to achieve the outcomes you want. We help you realize the success you want.

White Papers

Powder
Low Temperature Routes to Inorganic Powders and Structures

In this white paper we discuss the sol-gel process for making ceramics and glasses

Dentistry
Inorganic Powders in Dentistry

In this white paper we discuss what role inorganics can play in restoring and maintaining tooth functionality and the advantages that inorganics can provide in this area for developing technologies

Powder Control
The Applications of Zeta Potential in Process Control

This white paper discusses the theory of zeta potential, and how it can be measured and controlled

Hydroxyapatite bone replacement
Multi-Substituted Hydroxyapatites and the Role They Can Play in Advanced Bone Replacement Solutions

Much research has been done into developing synthetic Hydroxyapatite (HA) as materials for bone replacement, since natural bone comprises HA

Milling Processes
Milling Processes and Techniques

This white paper discusses milling options, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as focusing on how the milling process can help to control key characteristics to optimize the properties of end products in manufacturing processes

Orthopaedic Implants
The Role of Zeta Potential in the Manufacture of Healthcare Materials

This white paper discusses the applications of zeta potential for the manufacture of certain healthcare materials and how Lucideon has assisted manufacturers in this area

Case Studies

AM Powder
Additive Manufacturing Powder

Lucideon expertise helps develop powder conditioning procedure to improve processing

Tablets
Processing Challenge Resolution

Resolution of a manufacturing issue with fragile tableted products

Sun Cream
Croda: Coating Coverage & Application Optimization

Lucideon testing helps to optimize the coating process of powders

Tablets
Tablet Manufacture

Optimisation of powders for tablet pressing

Additive Manufacturing
Cracking in Additive Manufactured Components

Lucideon's additive manufacturing expertise helped identify root cause of product failure

Hip Joint Replacement
Additive Manufacturing and Hot Isostatic Pressing

We helped our client with discoloration issues after hot isostatic pressing