Investigations on the dustiness of binary acetaminophen - Lactose monohydrate powder blends

In this study, binary powder blends of acetaminophen (ACAM) and α-lactose monohydrate (LM) at different mixing ratios, with fine, medium-size, and coarse particles are investigated with a new two-chamber setup (TCS) to assess dustiness. The TCS consists of an emission and a detection chamber, allowing plain diffusive or convective particle transport. The aim is to compare the diffusive transport of ACAM with binary blends of ACAM and LM at different particle sizes and similar apparent density. Fine ACAM exhibits significantly higher dust emissions compared to medium and coarse ACAM.

Highlights

Two-chamber setup for investigating dust emissions with minimal amount of substance.

ACAM (9.91–216.12 μm) and LM (28.96–188.31 μm) particle sizes affect dust emissions.

Mixing of ACAM with LM significantly reduces dust emissions.

Blend of fine ACAM and coarse LM shows the highest dust emissions.

With increasing LM portion in the blends, ACAM dust emissions decrease. The blend of fine ACAM and coarse LM shows the highest dust emission, while the blend of coarse ACAM and fine LM reveals the lowest emissions. The TCS offers precise, reproducible measurements with good repeatability, making it beneficial for laboratory and industrial applications, even with small powder quantities.

Materials

Acetaminophen (ACAM; Caelo, Hilden, Germany and Fagron, Glinde, Germany) was used as an industry accepted safe surrogate substance for the measurement of dust emission. α-Lactose monohydrate (LM; Tablettose® 70 and Tablettose® 100, Meggle, Wasserburg am Inn, Germany) was used as an excipient for the preparation of binary powder blends consisting ACAM and LM.

Steffen Wirth, Martin Schöler, Claudia S. Leopold, Investigations on the dustiness of binary acetaminophen – Lactose monohydrate powder blends, Powder Technology, 2024, 120317, ISSN 0032-5910, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2024.120317.