ABSTRACT
The production of solid dosage forms such as tablets or capsules often requires a granulation step. Granulation serves several purposes, which include provision of improved flow characteristics in comparison to finely divided powders, improved compaction tendencies, and achieving and maintaining content uniformity. When this process is carried out in the traditional manner of wet granulation, the dry solid products are typically blended before addition of an aqueous solution containing binder. The binder is added during continued mixing in one of a variety of possible mixers and serves to bind the solid particles into a mass in a process called wet massing. A screening step usually follows, with formation of granules of a particular and consistent size. The granulation must eventually be dried. Drying is achieved by one of several possible methods, including tray drying, fluid bed drying, or even microwave drying. It is during this drying process that NIR has proven its value for control of the granulation process due to its ability to monitor moisture content online. The residual moisture content is known to affect the ultimate performance of a tablet dosage form [1], making control of the drying process of critical importance.
