Improving Tableting Performance of Lactose Monohydrate by Fluid-Bed Melt Granulation Co-Processing

Co-processing is commonly used approach to improve functional characteristics of pharmaceutical excipients to become suitable for tablet production by direct compression. This study aimed to improve tableting characteristics of lactose monohydrate (LMH) by co-processing by fluid-bed melt granulation with addition of hydrophilic (PEG 4000 and poloxamer 188) and lipophilic (glyceryl palmitostearate) meltable binders. In addition to binding purpose, hydrophilic and lipophilic excipients were added to achieve self-lubricating properties of mixture. Co-processed mixtures exhibit superior flow properties compared to pure LMH and comparable or better flowability relative to commercial excipient Ludipress®. Compaction of mixtures co-processed with 20% PEG 4000 and 20% poloxamer 188 resulted in tablets with acceptable tensile strength (>2 MPa) and good lubricating properties (ejection and detachment stress values below 5 MPa) in a wide range of compression pressures. While the best lubricating properties were observed when glyceryl palmitostearate was used as meltable binder, obtained tablets failed to fulfil required mechanical characteristics. Although addition of meltable binder improves interparticle bonding, disintegration time was not prolonged compared to commercial excipient Ludipress®. Co-processed mixtures containing 20% of either PEG 4000 or poloxamer 188 showed superior tabletability and lubricant properties relative to LMH and Ludipress® and can be good candidates for tablet production by direct compression.

A Review on the Preparation of Magnesium-Based Alloys Prepared by Powder Metallurgy and the Evolution of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

This paper reviews the manufacturing of magnesium-based alloys prepared by powder metallurgy (PM) technique and analysis of the effects of PM parameter on the developed microstructure, texture and mechanical properties. Powder metallurgy (PM) technique has been considered to produce magnesium product with consideration of less complex, finer grain and improved mechanical properties. Selection of PM route especially sintering to full densification determines a good diffusion path of alloy for interparticle bonding. This paper discusses the preparation and process parameter of each process in powder metallurgy routes, and the evolved microstructure including the crystallography texture and mechanical properties of the magnesium-based alloy product.

Comparing the potentials of clay and biochar in improving water retention and mechanical resilience of sandy soil

Changing climate is threatening rainfall regularity particularly in the semi-arid and arid regions; therefore, strategies to conserve water within their coarse-grained soils and to improve water use efficiency of crops are critical. This study compared the effectiveness of biochar and two types of clay materials in augmenting water retention and improving mechanical resilience of fine sand. The amendment of fine sand with woodchip-biochar and kaolinite (non-swelling clay) and Na-bentonite (swelling clay) improved the water retention capacity and interparticle bonding of the substrate depending of the rate of amendment and water content of the substrates. Na-bentonite was more effective at increasing water retention capacity at more negative matric potentials. Biochar was more effective at saturation due to the increased porosity, while kaolinite responds similarly to biochar. It is, however, shown that most of the water retained by the Na-betonite may not be available to plants, particularly at high amendment rate. Furthermore, the clay and biochar materials improved particle bonding in the fine sand with the Na-bentonite being more effective than biochar and kaolinite (in that order) in strengthening interparticle bonds and improving the resilience of fine sand, if the rate of amendment is kept at ≤50 g kg-1.

Thermal Properties of Various Ti-Al-C Composites Prepared by Hot Shock Compaction Utilizing Combustion Synthesis/ Właściwości Termiczne Kompozytów Ti-Al-C Uzyskanych Z Wykorzystaniem Metody Udarowego Zagęszczania Na Gorąco

Hot shock compaction method was utilized for the consolidation of MAX phase composites consisting of Ti, Al and C. This paper presents the production of dense, crack-free composites by combining the combustion synthesis with explosive detonation. Another objective is to investigate various properties of the obtained shock-compacts. The shock compacted materials were post-annealed at 1173 K for releasing the shock-induced strain. As a result, these compacts had strong interparticle bonding strength and few macro cracks. Intermetallic compounds (TiAl, Ti2Al and Ti3Al) and non-oxide ceramics (TiC and Ti4Al2C2) were detected in as-synthesized and annealed materials by X-ray diffraction experiments. Also, lamella structures of Ti4Al2C2 phase were observed by SEM. It was known that the coefficient of thermal expansion increased with increasing temperature, and decreased with increasing TiC content.