Process simulation in the pharmaceutical industry: a review of some basic physical models.

This study reviews process modeling efforts which have been developed to elucidate the fundamental physical process underlying the manufacture and delivery of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Within the pharmaceutical industry, process models have been applied to a diverse array of physical processes at length and time scales that vary by orders of magnitude. As such, both large-scale continuum and particle-scale discrete approaches will be discussed in this study. Challenges associated with the practical application of process models within the pharmaceutical industry will be discussed, and opportunities for future research will be identified. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.