Contact angle (CA) analysis is a noninvasive and rapid method to determine the wettability of various materials including biomaterials. Contact angle measurements and interpretations have been performed since the beginning of the 19th century. This review provides an overview of contact angle analysis and measurements performed on surfaces of pharmaceuticals and foods in relation to other analytical approaches. The contact angle method represents an analytical approach widely applied in order to determine the surface free energy of complex materials in these fields. Our review is focused on contact angle analysis and surface free energy characterization of pharmaceutical powders, injectable drugs, and foods. Correlations between chemistry, rheology and surface properties of these materials were considered in order to demonstrate the importance of the integrated analytical approach (IAA) for a complete characterization of these kinds of materials and the critical issues encountered in CA measurements. This review is organized in two parts: the first one is an overview of the history of research in CA method since its beginning, and the second one is focused on an overview of particular applications of CA method in pharmaceuticals and foods. In this work, it is shown that the topic of the surface properties of materials in the new "pharma-food" field is currently a very important area of research for the interpretation of the phenomena and the control of the quality and processing of these materials.
Contact angle measurements and applications in pharmaceuticals and foods: A critical review
Rossi, Davide
;Pittia, Paola;
2018-01-01
Abstract
Contact angle (CA) analysis is a noninvasive and rapid method to determine the wettability of various materials including biomaterials. Contact angle measurements and interpretations have been performed since the beginning of the 19th century. This review provides an overview of contact angle analysis and measurements performed on surfaces of pharmaceuticals and foods in relation to other analytical approaches. The contact angle method represents an analytical approach widely applied in order to determine the surface free energy of complex materials in these fields. Our review is focused on contact angle analysis and surface free energy characterization of pharmaceutical powders, injectable drugs, and foods. Correlations between chemistry, rheology and surface properties of these materials were considered in order to demonstrate the importance of the integrated analytical approach (IAA) for a complete characterization of these kinds of materials and the critical issues encountered in CA measurements. This review is organized in two parts: the first one is an overview of the history of research in CA method since its beginning, and the second one is focused on an overview of particular applications of CA method in pharmaceuticals and foods. In this work, it is shown that the topic of the surface properties of materials in the new "pharma-food" field is currently a very important area of research for the interpretation of the phenomena and the control of the quality and processing of these materials.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
