Surface Composition and Morphology of Particles Dried Individually and by Spray Drying

This study investigates how the morphology of spray-dried particles is related to the formulation and properties of the components in the formulation. Further, the scale effects in comparisons of levitation-dried single particles and spray-dried particles in a lab-scale spray dryer have been addressed. The Drying Kinetics AnalyzerTM generates single particles from a levitated drop under simulated spray-drying conditions. A set of surface-active polymers (bovine serum albumin, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, and triblock co-polymer Poloxamer), in combination with lactose, were analyzed for their dynamic surface properties in solution, and their effect on particle morphology and surface composition were determined by low-vacuum SEM and XPS analyses. The morphology obtained in spray drying was reproduced in the single-particle drying. The surface compositions were also similar, but higher levels of surface-active materials were found at the surface of the single particles as compared to the spray-dried particles. Further, the adsorption rate of surface-active compounds at the drop surface estimated by dynamic surface tension was found to be an important parameter to estimate the surface composition at different drying scales. The particle morphology was primarily determined by the surface rheological properties of the feed solution and, to a lesser extent, by the surface composition.