Development of a Hot-Melt-Extrusion-Based Spinning Process to Produce Pharmaceutical Fibers and Yarns

Abstract

Fibers and yarns are part of everyday life. So far, fibers that are also used pharmaceutically have mainly been produced by electrospinning. The common use of spinning oils and the excipients they contain, in connection with production by melt extrusion, poses a regulatory challenge for pharmaceutically usable fibers. In this publication, a newly developed small-scale direct-spinning melt extrusion system is described, and the pharmaceutically useful polyvinyl filaments produced with it are characterized. The major parts of the system were newly developed or extensively modified and manufactured cost-effectively within a short time using rapid prototyping (3D printing) from various materials. For example, a stainless-steel spinneret was developed in a splice design for a table-top melt extrusion system that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry. The direct processing of the extruded fibers was made possible by a spinning system developed called Spinning-Rosi, which operates continuously and directly in the extrusion process and eliminates the need for spinning oils. In order to prevent instabilities in the product, further modifications were also made to the process, such as a the moisture encapsulation of the melt extrusion line at certain points, which resulted in a bubble-free extrudate with high tensile strength, even in a melt extrusion line without built-in venting.

Recent progress in fiber-based soft electronics enabled by liquid metal

“…Because melt hydrolysis leads to lower molecular weight, making fibers difficult to form. Thus, drying polymers is critical to the Melt spinning (ROSENBAUM et al, 2022). For some polymer materials, the hydrolysis of polymer materials will produce harmful substances.…”

Understanding the Interaction of Thermal, Rheological, and Mechanical Parameters Critical for the Processability of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Based Systems during Hot Melt Extrusion

“…In the literature, several solid and liquid plasticizers for PVA have already been described for different applications [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no research has comprehensively assessed the influence of plasticizers on the thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of PVA in detail.…”