@article{Barba2013a,

title = {Microwave assisted drying of cellulose derivative (HPMC) granular solids},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Annalisa Dalmoro and Matteo D'Amore},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032591013000156},

doi = {10.1016/j.powtec.2012.12.060},

issn = {00325910},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-03-01},

journal = {Powder Technology},

volume = {237},

pages = {581--585},

abstract = {Drying constitutes a critical unit operation in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical powders and their associated products. In this work, the drying processes of cellulose derivative (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, HPMC) granules were investigated. Granules of HPMC powders were produced by a wet granulation process using a hydro-alcoholic solution as binder phase, then they were dried with different drying methods based on traditional (by convective heating) and innovative (by microwave heating) techniques. To compare drying kinetics, experimental data were fitted by Lewis equation obtaining drying coefficients, and time/temperature process parameters were investigated. Microwave assisted drying showed reduced process times and, under some conditions, it allowed no drastic process temperatures. Since granular solids have a great relevance in pharmaceutical solid dosage form preparations, novel methods of drying with better performances appeared an issue of great interest for industry.},

keywords = {dielectric properties, Drying kinetics, Granulation, Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), microwave heating, Pharmaceutical granules, Wet granulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Barba2009e,

title = {Investigation of Pluronic© F127-Water solutions phase transitions by DSC and dielectric spectroscopy},

author = { Anna Angela Barba and Matteo D'Amore and Mario Grassi and Serafina Chirico and Gaetano Lamberti and Giuseppe Titomanlio},

url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/app.30586},

doi = {10.1002/app.30586},

issn = {00218995},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-10-01},

journal = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science},

volume = {114},

number = {2},

pages = {688--695},

publisher = {Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company},

abstract = {The water solutions of the block copolymers PEOn-PPOm-PEOn, known as pluronics, show a complex thermal behavior, since they are liquid at low temperature (5°C), and they can give soft gel when heated at body temperature (37°C). These properties are of great interest in biomedical applications. To properly design these applications, a prerequisite is the knowledge of the thermodynamics\textemdashhow much\textemdashand of the kinetics\textemdashhow fast\textemdashwith which these transformations take place. In this work, solutions of F127 (the copolymer for which n = 100 and m = 65) were studied by varying the concentration and the temperature and analyzing their behavior when heated under several heating rates. The studies were performed by differential scanning calorimetry (DCS) and dielectric spectroscopy. The investigations carried out under equilibrium conditions allowed us to determine the thermodynamics of the phase transitions, whereas the investigations carried out under varying conditions allowed us to quantify the kinetics of the phase transitions. Empirical models were also proposed to describe both the thermodynamics and the kinetics observed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009},

keywords = {biological applications of polymers, block copolymers, dielectric properties, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gelation, Hydrogel Characterization},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}