Reproducibility of flow properties of microcrystalline cellulose — Avicel PH102

Earlier work showed that a batch of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC, Avicel PH102) exhibited minimum acceptable flow properties required for successful high speed tableting. The aim of this work was to assess the suitability of using Avicel PH102 as a reference indicator of minimum powder flow by examining the reproducibility of flow properties of seven batches of Avicel PH102. Powder flow properties have been characterized in terms of flow function, flow factor, cohesion, bulk density, effective angle of internal friction, angle of linearized yield locus, and angle of internal friction at steady-state flow. Results show that the measured flow function is independent of operator. Batch-to-batch flow functions are not statistically different at 95% confidence level suggesting acceptable reproducibility. These results corroborate that Avicel PH102 may be used as a reference powder for predicting flow performance of a new formulation during high speed tableting.