This is one of a set of experiments designed for lower level undergraduate courses. The focus of the experimental set is to introduce pharmaceutical concepts to undergraduates while also incorporating general engineering educational objectives. This contains both a student version and instructor version. In this lab, students analyze the fluidization of a pharmaceutical ingredient, such as an excipient, and measure basic fluid/particle properties. In order to do this, students first determine three properties; bulk density, particle density, and bed porosity. This is done through a gravimetric analysis, where the students use a graduated cylinder and water to determine the bulk and particle densities, and then calculate the porosity of the substance using these two parameters. Students compare these to literature values and learn how to use particulate data bases. The second part of the experiment focuses on fluidization phenomena. Here, students determine fluidization regimes and the effect of process parameters related to fluidization. The objectives of this experiment are: Students will fluidize a pharmaceutical excipient, and learn about the variables affecting fluid-particle transport; Students will construct and interpret fluidization graphs using experimental data; Students will gain experience using the online literary search engines. This experiment (and the others in this set) were developed by Rowan University as part of the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Structured Organic Particulate Systems (SOPS).

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Alexander Vincent Jannini; David J Krause; Heather Malino; Kevin Sweeney; C.S. Slater PhD; M.J. Savelski PhD (2014), "Fluidization of Pharmaceutical Substances - Student and Instructor's Versions," https://pharmahub.org/resources/620.

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1. Excipients
2. Experiments
3. Laboratories
4. pharmaceutical engineering
5. Pharmaceutical manufacturing
6. Undergraduate