Suppression of the coffee-ring effect by tailoring the viscosity of pharmaceutical sessile drops

Wilkinson, Janine, Tam, Chak Hin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7380-856X, Askounis, Alexandros ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0813-7856 and Qi, Sheng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1872-9572 (2021) Suppression of the coffee-ring effect by tailoring the viscosity of pharmaceutical sessile drops. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 614. ISSN 0927-7757

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Abstract

The coffee ring effect (CRE) lies at the heart of droplet-based processing techniques where the drying process of the solute-laden droplet leads to the undesirable formation of a ring-like pattern with uneven distribution of the solidified solute. Although the CRE has been well studied, the practical strategies reported in the literature to prevent CRE are still limited. In this study, we aimed to develop a simple practical solution to minimise CRE by adding polymeric excipients to pharmaceutical solutions containing active pharmaceutical ingredients. We investigated the influence of viscosity on multicomponent sessile droplets containing a polymer (chitosan) and a model drug (paracetamol). When dried on glass, a sessile droplet of an aqueous paracetamol solution was shown to recrystallise into an undesired coffee-ring pattern of drug crystals, due to CRE. This peripheral deposition of crystalline solute was suppressed when the formulation was thickened with chitosan. Increasing the viscosity of the solution prevented the CRE by immobilising solute within the droplet, preventing the radial flow of the solute to the edge of the droplet. This study enriches the mechanistic understanding of a simple practical solution to the suppression of CRE which can have wide applications in many industrial sectors including pharmaceutical.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: chitosan,coffee ring effect,droplet casting,drying suspensions,paracetamol,solid dispersion,surfaces and interfaces,physical and theoretical chemistry,colloid and surface chemistry ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3100/3110
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Pharmacy
Faculty of Science > School of Engineering
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Biosciences Teaching and Education Research
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Pharmaceutical Materials and Soft Matter
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 09 Jan 2021 01:22
Last Modified: 25 Oct 2023 01:34
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/78126
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2021.126144

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