Improving dispensing of a nanoparticulate formulation in manufacturing

Biotech Fluidics reports on the successful development and implementation of a pioneering combined micro flowmeter and degasser set-up to improve dispensing of a nanoparticulate formulation for a leading medical technology company.

To ensure the accuracy of spray coating of the pharmaceutical formulation onto a medical device the CMO turned to Biotech Fluidics because of their experience in creating turnkey fluidics systems and expertise in degassing.

Optimised to operate over the 100 nl to 80 µL/minute flow range, with an unmatched high resolution of 1 nl / minute, Biotech Fluidics Micro Flow Meter is the perfect tool for monitoring the accuracy and consistency of low volume liquid dispensing.

Biotech Fluidics Project Manager Robin Oz commented: “Flowmeters are available for monitoring lab scale processes but are not optimised for monitoring micro and nanoscale liquid volumes. As a non-invasive monitoring device, offering real time flow data, our Micro Flow Meter was the perfect choice for ensuring the accuracy of spray coating the valuable pharmaceutical formulation with high precision. While our Micro Flow Meter is calibrated as standard for aqueous solutions, we collaborated with our customer to develop a robust flowmeter calibration in acetone – the solvent used to spray coat the pharmaceutical formulation in the manufacturing process.”

Dr Oz added: “Formation of microbubbles, compromising the dosing precision, was an issue for the process. This was addressed by introducing a high-performance degasser into the process line. With an internal volume of only 25µl – our DEGASi® Plus Nano inline degasser is optimised for degassing fluid flows in the range up to 100 uL/minute making it an ideal tool for the job.”

He concluded: “Having developed and demonstrated the reliable operation and monitoring accuracy of the microflowmeter/degasser set-up for use in this pharmaceutical formulation dispensing application our client has now placed an order for 32 systems.”

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