Subscribe to Newsletter
Manufacture Small Molecules

Think Small

Accuracy and stability are essential when feeding small quantities of powders in a continuous manufacturing process. Agents, such as lubricants, are often only required in small amounts, and the industry is increasingly moving toward highly potent APIs – many of which require feed rates of only a few grams per hour. Conventional feeders struggle to cope with such small quantities, so scientists from the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering and the Institute for Process and Particle Engineering at Austria’s Graz University of Technology have designed a micro-feeder to tackle the issue (1).

The feeder is based on active volumetric displacement and uses a piston to push powder up out of a cartridge toward the end of a plate. A scraper then places the powder into the process inlet. According to the researchers, the micro-feeder was tested in its ability to feed down to 1 g/hour and “can feed powder with good accuracy and reproducibility, indicating its high potential for continuous process implementation.”

Receive content, products, events as well as relevant industry updates from The Medicine Maker and its sponsors.
Stay up to date with our other newsletters and sponsors information, tailored specifically to the fields you are interested in

When you click “Subscribe” we will email you a link, which you must click to verify the email address above and activate your subscription. If you do not receive this email, please contact us at [email protected].
If you wish to unsubscribe, you can update your preferences at any point.

  1. S Sacher et al., Int. J. Pharm., [Online ahead of print] (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119969
About the Author
Stephanie Vine

Making great scientific magazines isn’t just about delivering knowledge and high quality content; it’s also about packaging these in the right words to ensure that someone is truly inspired by a topic. My passion is ensuring that our authors’ expertise is presented as a seamless and enjoyable reading experience, whether in print, in digital or on social media. I’ve spent fourteen years writing and editing features for scientific and manufacturing publications, and in making this content engaging and accessible without sacrificing its scientific integrity. There is nothing better than a magazine with great content that feels great to read.

Register to The Medicine Maker

Register to access our FREE online portfolio, request the magazine in print and manage your preferences.

You will benefit from:
  • Unlimited access to ALL articles
  • News, interviews & opinions from leading industry experts
  • Receive print (and PDF) copies of The Medicine Maker magazine

Register