Application of the Discrete Element Method for Manufacturing Process Simulation in the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Process simulation using mathematical modeling tools is becoming more common in the pharmaceutical industry. A mechanistic model is a mathematical modeling tool that can enhance process understanding, reduce experimentation cost and improve product quality. A commonly used mechanistic modeling approach for powder is the discrete element method (DEM).

Scale-Up Strategy in Quality by Design Approach for Pharmaceutical Blending Process with Discrete Element Method Simulation.

An approach combining quality by design (QbD) and the discrete element method (DEM) is proposed to establish an effective scale-up strategy for the blending process of an amlodipine formulation prepared by the direct compression method. Critical process parameters (CPPs) for intermediate critical quality attributes (IQAs) were identified using risk assessment (RA) in the QbD approach. A Box-Behnken design was applied to obtain the operating space for a laboratory-scale.