Publications by authors named "Reto Maurer"

An interactive tool has been developed to help design oral solid dosage form formulations. The tool enables quantitative explorations and comparisons of physical, bulk, and mechanical properties, and takes into account functional characteristics as well. In this manner, comparisons and clustering of both excipients and APIs can be carried out.

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Discharge of powder from a hopper or bin is a common operation in solid dosage form manufacture. Powder flow obstruction during hopper/bin discharge, such as arching or ratholing, remains an outstanding risk and cannot be reliably diagnosed using the existing flow function coefficient-based method. In this study, we showed that the major principal stress (σ) at the bin outlet is required for an accurate prediction of powder flow obstruction risks.

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Background: The physical activity counseling for in-patients with major depression (PACINPAT) randomized controlled trial was launched to tackle physical inactivity for in-patients with major depressive disorder. Evidence shows that despite potential treatment effects, physical inactivity is prevalent in this population. To contribute to the assessment of how this in-person and remote, theory-based, individually tailored intervention was designed, received and effected behavior, the aim of this study was to evaluate its implementation.

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The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of funnel flow pattern for common pharmaceutical powder blends, upon discharging from modern intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) in drug product manufacturing. The estimation was built upon Jenike's original radial stress field theory. It was modified to account for the stress-dependence of wall friction angle commonly observed in pharmaceutical powders.

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The pharmaceutical industry today is experiencing a paradigm shift from batch to continuous manufacturing, which promises greater flexibility to target diverse populations, as well as more-consistent product quality to ensure best efficacy. However, shifting to continuous processing means that even basic process steps, such as feeding, can become unexpected but are crucially important. In this review, we will present the fundamental differences between dispensing (batch) and feeding (continuous) and how they impact the formulation design space.

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Amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) are increasingly used to improve the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds. However, hydrophilic polymers in ASD have high water-binding properties and, upon water contact, they often form a gel on the surface of the tablet, impacting the rate and extent of drug release. Most inorganic salts decrease water solubility of organic solutes, changing the gel properties of hydrophilic polymers.

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Hot-melt extrusion is an option to fabricate amorphous solid dispersions and to enhance oral bioavailability of poorly soluble compounds. The selection of suitable polymer carriers and processing aids determines the dissolution, homogeneity and stability performance of this solid dosage form. A miniaturized extrusion device (MinEx) was developed and Hypromellose acetate succinate type L (HPMCAS-L) based extrudates containing the model drugs neurokinin-1 (NK1) and cholesterylester transfer protein (CETP) were manufactured, plasticizers were added and their impact on dissolution and solid-state properties were assessed.

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