Production of pellets by pharmaceutical extrusion and spheronisation, part I: evaluation of Technological and formulation variables

Abstract

The pelletisation process consists of the agglomeration of fine powders of a drug substance and excipients into spherical units. These units are referred as pellets and differ from those obtained from the granulation process in terms of their physical characteristics. One of the pelletisation processes usually applied for production of pellets comprising an active drug is based on two fundamental unit operations: extrusion and spheronisation. The present work intends to describe and revise the literature of the so-called extrusion and spheronisation process regarding the implication of the technological and formulation parameters in the production of pellets.