Pharmaceuticals
Services
Particle characterisation
Many constituents of medicines (including both
the active pharmaceutical ingredients and the excipients) are in
solid form, and this can be the case whether the product is a
liquid (for example a nasal suspension) or a solid (e.g.
tablets).
The physical and chemical properties of these
solids and the particles from which they are made are very
important to the behaviour of the material, and can affect a wide
range of factors such as their behaviour during manufacturing, the
stability of the product and its efficacy in the body.
LGC has considerable experience and expertise
in the application of a broad range of specialised techniques to
the characterisation of pharmaceutical powders. These include:
- Particle size distribution (by laser
diffraction and image analysis)
- Analysis of particle shape and
aggregation (using optical and electron microscopy with image
analysis)
- Surface area determination (nitrogen
adsorption)
- Pore size distribution (using mercury
porosimetry)
- Analysis of crystalline form or polymorphs
(using powder x-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman
spectroscopy and thermal analysis)
- Elemental microanalysis using SEM/EDX.
- True or skeletal density (using helium
pycnometry)
- Tapped and bulk density
- Thermal properties (thermogravimetric
analysis, differential scanning calorimetry) .
Our services cover the full range of
analytical requirements, including
- Drug development
- Stability testing
- Routine batch analysis
- Problem solving and investigative
analysis
- Method development and validation.
For further information, contact us
Email: pharmaInfo@lgc.co.uk
LGC, The Heath Business Park, Runcorn,
Cheshire WA7 4QX, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1928 515163
Fax: +44 (0)1928 500125
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