Improvement of Ibuprofen Flowability Using a Dry Coating Technique

The inability of cohesive powders, such as ibuprofen, to flow freely has created a number of challenges in the pharmaceutical industry. The dry coating technique performed with the Magnetically Assisted Impact Coater (MAIC) was used to improve the flowability of ibuprofen, one of the active pharmaceutical ingredients of great commercial importance. The optimum concentration for coating ibuprofen with two different nano sized Silica powders, R 972 and EH-5, to increase the flowability of ibuprofen was determined after analyzing the powder using different methods such as free flow voiding through an orifice and 6-foot pipe, angle of repose, Carr Index, and bulk and task density. The results obtained from the angle of repose show that R 972 1% (w/w) increases the flowability of ibuprofen more than the EH-5 1% (w/w). On the other hand, the result from the free flow technique indicates better flow at the 1% (w/w) concentration than at the 5% (w/w) concentration. From the data obtained it can be concluded that R 972 1% flows better than the other samples prepared. More studies will be performed to further enhance and optimize the ibuprofen flowability.