Development of a micro dosing system for fine powder using a vibrating capillary. Part 1: The investigation of factors influencing on the dosing performance

Precise filling of powder in pharmaceutical development and production is still a challenge, especially when handling small quantities of high potency actives. For this purpose, a micro dosing system for fine powder using a vibrating capillary was developed and investigated. The main objective in this work focused on flow rate and its variability in relation to parameters such as capillary diameter, frequency, and amplitude. The impact of powder properties such as density, particle size, size distribution and shape was also studied with five different kinds of lactose powder. It was found that both the frequency and the amplitude affect the flow rate and variability but with different impact. The range of flow rate can vary from 1 mg to 10 mg per second and a relative standard deviation of better than 3% can be achieved.

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