Particle crystallization during spray drying in humid air

Abstract

A new and modified spray drying setup was arranged to produce spray-dried crystalline lactose particles. According to Williams–Landel–Ferry kinetics (WLF), it was suggested that a higher particle temperature and lower glass-transition temperature would increase the crystallization rate of the particles during the spray-drying process while still giving dry powders. The new experimental setup allowed the particle temperature to reach higher values by using an insulated drying chamber and also allowed the particle glass-transition temperature to reach lower values by maintaining a higher gas humidity with the aid of a condenser unit attached to the dryer. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and moisture-induced sorption analysis were used to verify the crystallinity of the spray-dried lactose powders. These analyses showed a higher degree of crystallinity for the particles than have previously been reported in the literature. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analyses were further used to identify different lactose anomers. The results suggest that only α-lactose anomer exists in the products as obtained from the modified spray-drying system. The micrographs from scanning electron microscopic analysis also indicated a very crystalline nature for the particles.