ABSTRACT
Pelletization is an agglomeration process that converts fine powders or granules of bulk drugs and excipients into small, free-flowing, spherical or semi-spherical units, referred to as pellets. Pellets range in size, typically, between 0.5–1.5 milli meter, though other sizes could be prepared, depending on the processing technologies employed. The most widely used pelletization processes in the pharmaceutical industry are extrusion/spheronization, solution/suspension layering, and powder layering. The sizes of the pellets obtained from a given formulation and a set of processing conditions were determined by the nozzle orifice. The pellets were manufactured in a spray dryer, a piece of equipment that already had a wide application in the industry. Pellets are of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry for a variety of reasons. Pelletized products not only offer flexibility in dosage form design and development, but are also utilized to improve the safety and efficacy of bioactive agents.
