Melt viscosity is an essential property in pharmaceutical processes such as mixing, extrusion, fused deposition modeling, and melt coating. Measuring and modeling of the melt viscosity for drug/polymer mixtures is essential for optimization of the manufacturing process. In this work, the melt viscosity of nine formulations containing the drug substances acetaminophen, itraconazole, and griseofulvin, as well as the pharmaceutical polymers Eudragit EPO, Soluplus, and Plasdone S-630, were analyzed with a rotational and oscillatory rheometer. The shear rate, temperature, and drug fraction were varied systematically to investigate their influence on viscosity. The results for the pure polymers showed typical shear-thinning behavior and are fundamental for modeling with the Carreau and Arrhenius approaches. The investigations of the viscosity of the drug/polymer mixtures resulted in a plasticizing or a filler effect, depending on the type of drug and the phase behavior. A drug shift factor was proposed to model the change in viscosity as a function of the drug fraction. On this basis, a universal model to describe the melt viscosity of drug/polymer mixtures was developed, considering shear rate, temperature, and drug fraction.
Keywords: amorphous solid dispersions; drug; filler; modeling; plasticizing; polymers; rheology; viscosity.