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The use of process analytical technology (PAT) tools is increasing steadily in the pharmaceutical industry. Such tools are now located throughout the process. When producing tablets, the tableting step itself may be the ideal moment to assess final product composition. Being the last unit operation in tablet production where the elements are still free flowing, it is relatively straightforward to ascertain the composition of the blend in real time. However, a single probe cannot be expected to monitor the composition of every component of a multicomponent blend. In this study, three PAT tools (light-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, near-infrared spectroscopy and color (RGB) imaging) simultaneously checked the composition of powder blends flowing through the feeding unit (feed frame) of a tablet press. The results demonstrate the potential of these tools in monitoring changes in the concentration of a multicomponent mixture in real time, providing users with means to both scrutinize the process and better understand phenomena occurring inside the feed frame.

Monitoring powder potency and homogeneity is important in achieving real-time release testing in a continuous tablet manufacturing operation. If quality related issues are encountered, monitoring powder potency inside a feed frame offers a last opportunity to intervene in the process before tablet compression. Feed frame monitoring methods based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy have been increasingly reported in recent years. New process analytical tools with the potential of being deployed alone or in combination with NIR spectroscopy for feed frame monitoring are now available commercially. The present study evaluated the potential of near infrared chemical imaging (NIR CI) for in-line monitoring of a prototype pharmaceutical composition containing ascorbic acid (AA), microcrystalline cellulose and dicalcium phosphate. NIR spectroscopy was the reference method. In-line calibration models based on partial least square regression were developed and validated with a range of AA concentrations. The ability of NIR spectroscopy and NIR CI to predict concentrations in test runs was ascertained both independently and in combination. NIR CI, with a single bandpass filter, predicted AA concentrations—present at commercially relevant concentrations—with acceptable accuracy. Comparative results showed that NIR CI has the potential for in-line monitoring of blend concentrations inside feed frames. In addition to the advantage of increased sample size, it also has the potential to detect segregation inside feed frames.