Parameters influencing polymer particle layering of the dry coating process

The dry coating process is an emerging coating technology using neither organic solvents nor water. In contrast to liquid-borne coatings, coating material application and film formation are divided into two phases, the coating phase where the powdery coating material is applied together with the liquid plasticizer, and the curing phase. In this study the coating phase was characterized with respect to the forces acting between the polymer particles during material application. Atomic force microscopy was conducted measuring the interparticle forces which were related to the coating efficiency. The influence of different liquid additives on the interparticle forces and the coating efficiency were evaluated. HPMCAS was used as enteric resistant polymer, triethylcitrate (TEC), Myvacet (diacetylated monoglyceride) and a mixture of both as liquid additives. Interparticle forces were found to be similar when using TEC or a mixture of TEC and Myvacet. In contrast, interparticle forces were higher when using solely Myvacet. This is attributed to the fact that Myvacet does not penetrate into the polymer without TEC which is acting as a penetration enhancer. As Myvacet remains predominantly on the particle surface, capillary forces act between the particles explaining high interparticle forces. The highest interparticle force determined by AFM is in accordance to the highest coating efficiency which has been found for the corresponding coating formulation containing HPMCAS and Myvacet. Consequently, it is demonstrated that the ability of the liquid to remain on the surface of the polymer and to build up capillary forces is crucial for the material application.