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Practicalities of Formulating Powder Blends in Different Inhaler Devices

Forbes B.

RDD Asia 2016. Volume , 2016: 155-162.

Abstract:

This article focuses on the practicalities of formulating powder blends for capsule-based inhaler devices. Practical formulation issues receive less attention in the scientific literature than studies aimed at understanding the fundamental science of particle interactions and powder aerosolization or research into specialized particle engineering that is being developed for new inhaled drug classes. From a formulator’s perspective, the factors that influence product performance are well known and include carrier particle size distribution, concentration of fines and device internal resistance. However, inhaled product development must accommodate the inter-dependent influence of these factors on product performance. This requires a holistic approach to product development that utilizes iterative study designs to generate decision-making data, taking into account formulation design, manufacture and device characterization. In the future, modeling techniques such as artificial neural networks have the potential to reduce reliance on the resource and time intensive in vitro data generation that such approaches entail.