The purpose of this study was the development of novel, fast disintegrating, effervescent pellets by employing the direct pelletization technique as a single step process. In line with the Quality by Design (QbD) regulatory framework, statistical experimental design was extensively applied to correlate significant formulation and process variables with the critical quality attributes of the product. Pellets were studied with regards to sphericity, size and size distribution. In contrast to the existing multiparticulate platforms, this development integrated only water-soluble excipients to facilitate the multifunctional use of the final dosage form. The application of a screening fractional factorial design augmented to a full factorial design set the roadmap for the rational selection of the composition and process parameters, revealing in parallel the positive contribution of the powder feeder on the CQAs, when the critical process and formulation factors were properly adjusted. The response surface methodology was exploited for the final process optimization phase, which allowed the construction of appropriate mathematical models connecting the input variables and the CQAs under study. The implementation of the desirability function, lead to the optimum formulation and process settings for the production of pellets with narrow size distribution and geometric mean diameter of approximately 800 μm. In conclusion, using a lean approach supported by design of experiments (DoE) techniques within the QbD framework, a novel multifunctional formulation platform has been developed.
Keywords: Rotary processor; direct pelletization; effervescent agents; experimental design; powder feeder.