Capillary Rheometer in Pharmaceutical Product Development

Ameet Deshmukh

05.30.2023

Dynisco recently helped a pharmaceutical company in the characterization of their new formulation product using our LCR7000 Capillary rheometer. Our client was looking to expand their understanding of the shear viscosity behavior of their new formulation product, which was still in the developmental stage, and study the change in shear viscosity over a course of time. Shear viscosity of a product helps us understand the rheological nature & behavior of the product when it is subjected to some kind of stress. This is of importance when the product goes through some kind of processing, such as extrusion and injection molding, on a larger/industrial scale. Our experts at Dynisco mimicked the extrusion process that the product would face post developmental stage by selecting a capillary die of certain L/D, temperature, and shear rate conditions. The product was a mix of 2 separate entities that could only be mixed before the test.  Dynsico experts studied the shear viscosity behavior of the product over the course of time to understand the viscosity changes the product would see in real processing conditions. By keeping constant stress and shear rate, the experts plotted a viscosity vs time study graph.

The study shows a steady increase in the product viscosity. It helped our client determine what would be the ideal time in the extruder for the product to achieve the consistency they desire, eventually working their way up in the product development stage. This was Dynisco’s first time running a unique formulation product, and we certainly hope to further our testing grounds in the pharmaceutical field and look forward to such unique challenges. 

If you would like to learn more about how our viscosity solutions can help you, ask our experts today!