Experimental Investigation of Spray Drying Breakup Regimes of a PVP-VA 64 Solution Using High-Speed Imaging.

Atomization plays a key role in spray drying, a process widely used in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biological, and food and beverage industries. In the pharmaceutical industry, spray drying is particularly important in the preparation of amorphous solid dispersions, which enhance the bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients when mixed with a polymer. In this study, a 3D-printed adaptation of a commercial spray dryer nozzle (PHARMA-SD PSD-1, GEA Group AG) was used to investigate the atomization of PVP-VA 64 polymer solutions under varying flow conditions using high-speed diffuse back-illumination.