Tribo-electrification of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients

► The electrification of particles occurred very rapidly for majority of powders. ► The range of specific charge of excipients was from − 11.3 to 3.87 nC/g. ► The data show wide range of charge values amongst API tested from − 323 to 170 nC/g. ► API materials charge to a higher extent with greater variability than excipients. ► The amount of powder that adhered is higher for API materials than for excipients.