Application of dynamic mechanical testing to characterize the viscoelastic properties of powder-filled semisolids

A nondestructive technique, dynamic mechanical testing, was used to characterize the viscoelastic properties of dispersions of powdered starch in anhydrous lanolin. The elastic shear modulus (G'), viscous shear modulus (G"), and loss tangent (damping; tan delta) were determined as a function of shear frequency, temperature, and the volume fraction of starch. The results of these studies show that constitutive mathematical models, derived to predict the mechanical behavior of solid-filled polymeric materials, can be applied to solid-filled semisolid pharmaceuticals. In particular, the Kerner equation was useful in describing the influence of starch on the G' of the dispersions. Even though the Kerner equation was unable to predict viscoelastic behavior at all shear frequencies, temperatures, and starch volume fractions, it proved beneficial in postulating mechanisms for starch-starch and starch-anhydrous lanolin interactions within the dispersions. In addition, damping was able to differentiate the influence of temperature. Data obtained from three temperature ranges, where anhydrous lanolin exists in three different structural states, shows that the influence of starch on damping is dictated by the structural state of anhydrous lanolin.