 | Yasah Vezele University of Rhode Island Chemical Engineering Mentor(s)Paul Takhistov, Ph.D. Marlena Brown Department of Food Science Rutgers University |
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| Evaluation of Acetaminophen Powder Hydration using Raman Spectroscopy and Water Activity measurements | ||
| The investigation of hydration on three grades of powder acetaminophen was studied. Acetaminophen that is exposed to moist environments can decrease in strength over time due to electrostatic attraction of charged particle or a viscous saturated film layer on the surface of the powder. This is a major problem in the Pharmaceutical industry. In order to solve this problem, humidity ranging from 7-100% was measured using a Hygrometer and a Raman Spectrophotometer of each powder. The data indicated some energy changes of chemical bonds due to the different levels of hydration and an increase in moisture absorption with increasing humidity and particle size. In addition, the chemical potential of the system was equal in both the ideal and non-ideal phase at equilibrium due to Gibbs free energy. Finally, these measurements are used to improve nondestructive methods during manufacturing and interpret the behavior of powders with changing humidity. |