July 3, 2021: Pharmaceutical Interview Questions and Answers

Production System – Oral Solid Dosage Form

1. What is granulation end point?

End-point can be defined by the formulator as a target particle size mean or distribution. [Reference: 5]

The agglomerate growth in wet granulation processes depend mainly on rheology of the wet powder mass, as an adequate consistency is necessary for a controllable coalescence and growth of smaller agglomerates into larger agglomerates.[Reference: 6]

2. Method for end point detection for wet granulation process.

i. Banana breaking test or Hand squeeze test
ii. Ampere load method
iii. Measurements of power consumption of the mixer motor
iv. Impeller Torque
v. Binder solution addition and measurement of Loss On Drying (LOD)
vi. Torque value

3. What is Banana breaking method or Hand squeeze test for determination of granulation end point?

Wear hand gloves, take one handful of wet mass in the palm and press to make a lump. Open the palm and break the lump by pressing the thumb at the center of the lump.

4. What is principle of metal detector?

The operation of these metal detectors is based on the principles of electromagnetic induction. Metal detectors contain one or more inductor coils that are used to interact with metallic elements. Metallic contaminant in the product creates high frequency magnetic field within the detector coil, which in turn activates a reject flap.

5. What is fail safe mechanism of in metal detector?

When metal detector gets off because of power failure or inadvertently did not started before start of the batch, the flap should remain open so that tablets gets rejected. It must be challenged at regular intervals (e.g.: start, intermittently and at end of shift) to make sure they are effective.

Applied Pharmaceutics in Contemporary Compounding