The purpose of this study was to improve tabletability (tensile strength versus compaction pressure) of ?-lactose monohydrate by twin screw extrusion (TSE) near its dehydration temperature but below its melting point. When extruded at 150 and 160?°C, ?-lactose monohydrate converted completely to ?-lactose anhydrous that was mostly crystalline and only partially amorphous; the latter was indicated by glass transition observed in DSC scans. Tabletability of the material thus obtained by TSE was superior to anhydrous lactose available commercially or produced by hot air oven drying at 160?°C.
This study assesses the solid-solid interactions between the commercial form of Ketoprofen (KET), a non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drug of the propionic acid class, and several widely used pharmaceutical excipients. The work was carried out on drug-excipient mixtures, in 1:1 (w:w) ratio, blended in an agate mortar at room temperature. The compatibility/incompatibility of KET with the proposed excipients was highlighted by the most commonly used analytic methods: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The interactions between KET and three of the excipients, namely Macrogol 6000, magnesium stearate dehydrate and lactose monohydrate were evidenced by DSC and further confirmed by FT-IR and PXRD analysis.