Development of novel coating applications for the pharmaceutical industry

Coatings are an essential part in the formulation of drug tablets/beads in the pharmaceutical industry. Most film coatings are applied as aqueous or organic-based polymer solution, which cause many issues such as toxicity, high environmental impact, and high operational cost. The goal of this project is to develop a novel coating technology using dry powder. The new coating applications can overcome the disadvantages associated with the traditional use of organic or aqueous solvents. It will provide a new environmentally-friendly process, and an alternative technology to coat temperature/moisture sensitive drugs. The new coating application is expected to achieve high energy savings and avoid high operational cost. It will benefit many pharmaceutical companies in Ontario when it is fully commercialized.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jesse Zhu

Student:

Zhehao Jing

Partner:

Covar Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Pharmaceuticals

University:

Western University