Date of Thesis

2015

Description

Understanding how to manipulate the characteristics of particle dispersions during their initial formation is crucial for increasing manufacturing efficiency and ensuring product efficacy in the food and pharmaceutical industries. This thesis determines the effects of solvent type and the use of polymer excipients on the particle formation of a model organic compound, glycine, using monodisperse droplet evaporation. Glycine particles are formed from water, mixtures of water and acetone, and mixtures of water and ethanol using a vibrating orifice aerosol generator (VOAG). The metastable polymorph ß-glycine is formed from all three solutions, even from pure water. This is despite previous findings that ß-glycine is produced only from mixed solvent systems or other more complex chemistries. The morphology of these particles is generally spherical and solid, with a ridged exterior that becomes smoother with increasing ratios of acetone. Also, particles of glycine with the polymer additives polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) are explored for their potential to form amorphous particles using the VOAG. Individual particles produced from glycine and PVP have dimpled morphologies, and particles produced from glycine and HPMC are wrinkled and shriveled in shape. In addition, each excipient, when used with water, causes the formation of a film from conglomerated collected particles. Due to glycine's restrictive solubility in solvents other than water, utilizing these excipients with other solutes is recommended for use in the VOAG.

Keywords

Organic particle formation, Crystallization, Droplet evaporation

Access Type

Honors Thesis (Bucknell Access Only)

Degree Type

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Major

Chemical Engineering

First Advisor

Ryan C. Snyder

Download

Share

COinS