Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has gained attention as a promising technology for real-time, in-line monitoring of pharmaceutical film-coating processes, hitherto focused on single-layered tablet coatings between 50 and 100 µm final coating thicknesses. However, increasing interest in multiparticulate dosage forms with layers below 20 µm final film thickness requires pushing the limits of current industrial OCT systems, as they are limited in their spatial and temporal resolution. Merits and constraints of a novel ultra-high-resolution (UHR-) OCT system for pharma applications will be presented and discussed based on exemplary multiparticulate dosage forms with layers ranging from 5 to 50 µm. The increased resolution enables the assessment of defects, film thickness variability, and morphological features within pharmaceutical dosage forms previously unattainable using OCT. To use this information, new automated segmentation and evaluation algorithms for UHR-OCT images of very thin coatings and morphological features will be presented.
Learning Objectives:
Assess how modern, ultra-high-resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems improve process development, scale-up and control of the relevant pharmaceutical coating processes.
List merits and constraints of the novel ultra-high-resolution OCT system for pharma applications
Interpret structural features of the tomographic information from the UHR-OCT images of very thin coatings