hot melt extrusion technique a review.pdf

Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (2004) 3: 3-16 Received: December 2003 Accepted: February 2004 Review Article Hot-Melt Extrusion Technique: A Review Rina Chokshi, Hossein Zia College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, USA. Abstract Hot-melt extrusion is one of the most widely applied processing technologies in the plastic, rubber and food industry. Today this technology has found its place in the array of pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. Melt extrusion process are currently applied in the pharmaceutical field for the manufacture of a variety of dosage forms and formulations such as granules, pellets, tablets, suppositories, implants, stents, transdermal systems and ophthalmic inserts. This review article in detail describes the melt extrusion equipment and process. Industrial application of this process along with specific areas on pharmaceutical industry is illustrated. This article concludes with the overview of published examples of the melt extrusion process. Keywords: Hot-melt extrusion; Manufacturing operations; Extrusion geometry. Introduction Industrial application of the extrusion process dates back to 1930’s (1). Hot-melt extrusion is one of the most widely applied processing technologies in the plastic, rubber and food industry. Currently, more than half of all plastic products, including plastic bags, sheets and pipes are manufactured by this process (2). Recently melt extrusion has found its place in the array of the pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. Several research groups have evaluated this technology to achieve enhancement in dissolution rates for poorly water soluble drugs, to modify drug release and transdermal passage of the drug. Extrusion is the process of converting a raw material into a product of uniform shape and density by forcing it through a die under controlled conditions (1). Extrusion can be operated as a continuous process, whi