Modelling the swelling of pharmaceutical tablets using discrete element modelling

PECRE Award Holder: Mithushan Soundaranathan, University of Strathclyde

Exchange Host: Utrecht University, Netherlands

One of the key performance aspects of pharmaceutical tablets is the dissolution of the drug in a body fluid before it can be absorbed in the blood stream. This dissolution process typically consists of several critical steps, where the dissolution medium (body fluid) enters the tablet and causes particles to swell. This swelling eventually leads to the break-up of the tablet into agglomerates and its primary particles. The size of these particles/agglomerates then drives the dissolution rate of the drug. The swelling of individual particles in the tablet is a performance-controlling mechanisms, which leads to the interruption of the interparticulate bonds that causes the break-up of the tablet. To realise the digital design of future oral medicines, it is essential to monitor and model the swelling of single particles and the entire tablet.

The main objectives of this PECRE activity include the development of a single particle swelling model and modelling tablet swelling by coupling single particle swelling models with discrete element modelling (DEM). This PECRE activity will build the foundation for the future digital design of a tablet, which can greatly accelerate timelines resulting in increased sales time before patents run out, as well as savings in manufacturing development costs.