Malvern Panalytical 专家解析季节性用药需求下如何保障片剂质量与粉末流动性

Natalia Dadivanyan, market development manager - pharma small molecule at Malvern Panalytical, explains how manufacturers can keep production moving while maintaining tablet quality. 

Last year’s flu season showed how quickly demand for healthcare can rise. Emergency department attendances for acute respiratory infections increased from 9,000 per week at the beginning of October 2025 to more than 17,000 per week at the peak in early December, almost double.

When demand rises this quickly, pharmaceutical manufacturers face a difficult task. They need to make more medicines, often in a relatively short period, while making sure every tablet remains consistent in dose, robust, and safe. Manufacturers must know that the powders they are working with will behave in a predictable way as production increases.

With this in mind, Natalia Dadivanyan, market development manager - pharma small molecule at Malvern Panalytical, explains how manufacturers can maintain continuous production while ensuring consistent tablet quality. 

How can manufacturers maintain consistent powder flow as production scales? 

Oral solid dosage (OSD) medicines still make up a large proportion of the pharmaceutical market today, thanks to how easy they are for patients to take and their stable room-temperature shelf life. OSDs are also cost-effective to produce and a reliable way to deliver active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Achieving uniform blends is essential so every tablet delivers an exact dose, while remaining durable enough throughout packaging and transport.

However, Dadivanyan says producing a high-quality tablet starts with the powder: “The powder needs to flow smoothly through the manufacturing equipment so the correct amount goes into each die before compression. If powder flows poorly, it disrupts predictability and leads to inconsistent tablet quality. 

“This can become more difficult when production needs to increase for seasonal demand. Running equipment faster or for longer does not always mean the process will perform in the same way or produce the same quality of tablets. 

“This is where understanding powder flow becomes important. The FT4 Powder Rheometer allows direct measurement of dynamic flow, bulk and shear properties.” 

Using dedicated accessories and measurement techniques to simulate process conditions, such as mixing, fluidisation and shearing, as well as air permeability testing, the rheometer allows tablet developers to assess and optimise the processability of their powders.

How do particle size and shape affect tablet production? 

Understanding how a powder flows is important, but it is also useful to look at the particles that make up the powder. Particle size can affect how well a powder flows. Smaller particles tend to have greater cohesion, which means they are more likely to stick together. This can make the powder harder to process. The Mastersizer 3000+ can be used to measure particle size and understand the particle size distribution of a powder.

Particle shape can also affect powder flow. Spherical particles generally flow more easily because they have less friction and are less likely to become mechanically interlocked. However, pharmaceutical particles, particularly APIs, are rarely perfectly spherical. The Morphologi 4 can be used to measure particle shape and properties such as sphericity. 

Looking at particle size and shape can help manufacturers understand what is affecting powder flow and how this may affect tablet production.

How can combining different measurements improve tablet manufacturing? 

Looking at one property on its own does not always explain how a powder will behave during manufacturing. Combining different measurements can give a better understanding of powder behaviour.

For example, if a powder has poor flowability, looking at particle size and shape can help identify the cause. Fine particle aggregation can affect flow, while irregularly shaped particles can increase friction and mechanical interlocking.

Looking at these properties together can help manufacturers understand poor powder flow and make better decisions during tablet development and manufacturing, and make more informed decisions during formulation and process development.

Natalia Dadivanyan, market development manager - pharma small molecule at Malvern Panalytical, said: “Every powder is different, so it is important to understand its properties rather than rely on one measurement. The aim is to understand potential problems early. If a powder does not flow well, particle size and shape measurements can help identify what may be causing the issue. This information can then be used to support decisions during tablet development. 

Using these measurements together can help reduce uncertainty during development and give manufacturers more information about the powders they are working with. This is particularly important when the goal is to produce consistent tablets.”

It is also important to consider the solid state of the material. Different solid forms, including crystalline polymorphs, can have different properties that may affect how a pharmaceutical material behaves. X-ray diffraction (XRD) can help manufacturers understand the solid form of a material and identify changes that may be important during development (Empyrean) and manufacturing (Aeris).”