Micronization is a critical particle engineering process that reduces the diameter of solid materials to the micrometer range, significantly increasing the specific surface area. This transformation is essential for enhancing the dissolution rates of poorly soluble compounds, improving blend uniformity, and ensuring consistent delivery in specialized applications like inhalation or transdermal systems. BOC Sciences offers professional micronization services utilizing advanced milling technologies to achieve precise particle size distribution (PSD) targets. Our expertise spans from initial feasibility studies to large-scale processing, helping clients overcome formulation challenges, optimize material performance, and achieve superior product homogeneity across diverse industries including pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and advanced materials.
We evaluate the physical and chemical properties of your material to define the optimal particle engineering strategy.
Our technical team provides expert guidance on milling parameters to maintain material integrity and maximize yield.
We provide high-precision particle size reduction with scalable options from initial research to larger processing volumes.
Continuous monitoring and analytical rigor ensure that every batch aligns with your specific physical requirements.
BOC Sciences delivers precision particle engineering with scalable options to enhance the solubility and functionality of your materials.
Utilizing high-velocity compressed gas to induce particle-on-particle impact, this method achieves ultra-fine powders without heat generation. It is the gold standard for heat-sensitive APIs and materials requiring a narrow particle size distribution.
This technique employs high-speed rotors and pins to reduce particle size through mechanical force. It is highly efficient for bulk materials and excipients, offering a versatile solution for a broad spectrum of industrial applications.
By cooling materials with liquid nitrogen before or during milling, we can process elastic or heat-sensitive substances that are otherwise difficult to pulverize, ensuring brittle fracture and preventing material melting or sticking.
For targets requiring sub-micron or nano-scale ranges, wet milling in a liquid medium provides superior control. This method is ideal for creating stable suspensions and enhancing the surface energy of poorly soluble compounds.
Integrated air classification and mechanical sieving ensure the removal of oversized particles. This step guarantees that the final product adheres to strict "top-size" limits, critical for injectable or pulmonary delivery systems.
We use state-of-the-art laser diffraction to provide precise, real-time feedback on particle size distribution. This analytical rigor ensures that every micronization project delivers reproducible results that align with client specifications.
BOC Sciences provides professional particle engineering across an extensive range of solid-state materials. While the following table highlights our specialized focus within key dosage forms, our expertise extends to a near-limitless range of chemical and biological entities, including but not limited to the materials listed below.
| Dosage Forms | Key Service Requirements | Typical Technologies |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Solid Dosage | D90: 10-50 μm; significantly increasing specific surface area to enhance dissolution. | Fluid Energy (Jet) Milling, Wet Media Milling |
| Inhalation (DPI/MDI) | Aerodynamic diameter 1-5 μm; strict top-size limits and morphology control. | Jet Milling, Spray Drying, Supercritical Fluid |
| Injectable Nanosuspensions | Particle size<1000 nm; ensuring stability and preventing particle aggregation. | Nanomilling, High-Pressure Homogenization |
| Ophthalmic & Topical | Non-gritty texture; ultra-fine reduction to<10 μm to ensure material smoothness. | Precision Jet Milling, Micronization to<10 μm |
| Amorphous Solid Dispersions | Maintenance of the amorphous state and prevention of recrystallization. | Spray Drying, Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) |
Submit your material specifications and target particle size requirements. Our experts will design a micronization strategy tailored to your material's unique properties.
We evaluate the physical properties of your material (solubility, melting point, hardness) and define the optimal milling technology and target PSD.
Materials are securely received and inspected. Initial moisture content and particle size are recorded to establish a baseline for the micronization process.
The micronization is executed under controlled conditions. In-process laser diffraction analysis ensures the material stays within the desired specification.
A comprehensive analytical report, including PSD curves and SEM images (if requested), is provided alongside the expertly micronized material.
For challenging BCS Class II and IV compounds, we strategically reduce particle size to drastically maximize the specific surface area available for media interaction. This fundamental engineering approach significantly increases the intrinsic dissolution rate, facilitating more rapid and complete oral absorption while substantially improving overall systemic exposure for poorly soluble active ingredients.
Our team precisely engineers particles within the critical 1-5 micron aerodynamic range necessary for efficient deep lung penetration and alveolar deposition. By implementing rigorous morphology control and strict top-size limits, we support the successful development of high-efficiency dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and metered-dose inhalers that require consistent and reproducible respiratory delivery.
By accurately aligning the particle size distributions of both APIs and excipients, our micronization services effectively eliminate common segregation issues during the manufacturing process. This alignment ensures superior batch-to-batch consistency and high content uniformity, which is particularly vital for low-dose tablet and capsule formulations where precise active ingredient distribution is mandatory.
Extending beyond traditional pharmaceuticals, we provide specialized micronization for high-performance polymers and fine chemicals to significantly enhance reaction kinetics and chemical reactivity. Our particle engineering solutions also improve coating smoothness and optimize the mechanical properties of advanced materials, ensuring superior performance in electronic, cosmetic, and specialty industrial applications.
Partner with BOC Sciences to transform your raw materials into high-performance powders. Our technical expertise in particle engineering ensures your products achieve the perfect size for success.
Our advanced jet milling technology allows for extremely narrow particle size distributions, minimizing "fines" and ensuring a consistent top-size for critical applications.
Our optimized workflows and specialized equipment design maximize material recovery, which is essential when processing high-value or limited-quantity APIs.
With integrated cooling and cryogenic capabilities, we can process sensitive materials without risking thermal degradation or phase changes during the milling process.
From milligram-scale feasibility testing to multi-kilogram commercial production, our processes are designed for easy scale-up while maintaining consistent quality.
Target Compound: A highly crystalline kinase inhibitor intended for oncology applications, classified as a BCS Class II compound.
Client Needs: A pharmaceutical developer faced significant hurdles in early PK studies because the lead compound's extremely low water solubility hindered systemic absorption.
Challenges: Standard mechanical milling was ineffective; frictional heat caused local melting of the crystal lattice, leading to API degradation and loss of crystalline integrity.
Solution: BOC Sciences implemented an advanced fluid energy jet milling strategy that integrated a specialized high-capacity nitrogen cooling system to maintain a strictly cryogenic processing environment. By fine-tuning the gas pressure and material feed rates, our technical team successfully achieved a D50 of 2.5μm and a D90 under 6μm while ensuring 100% material stability and the complete preservation of the original crystalline structure.
Outcome: The micronized API demonstrated a 4-fold increase in dissolution rate, significantly improving bioavailability and accelerating advancement within the development pipeline.
Target Compound: A Long-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (LAMA) for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) treatment.
Client Needs: A biotech firm required an API micronized to a strict aerodynamic range of 1-3μm for delivery via a Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI).
Challenges: Particles exceeding 5μm would fail to reach the deep lung (alveoli), while sub-micron "fines" caused undesirable particle aggregation and poor powder flow.
Solution: We utilized a high-precision jet milling process that was seamlessly integrated with an automated air classifier to effectively strip away problematic fines and enforce a rigorous top-size limit. This sophisticated configuration allowed for real-time monitoring of the particle size distribution, ensuring the engineering of a highly uniform powder with the specific morphological characteristics and surface energy profiles required for consistent aerosolization.
Outcome: The engineered particles exhibited superior aerodynamic performance and high emitted dose consistency in the client's inhaler device.
Target Material: PLGA (Poly Lactic-co-Glycolic Acid), a biodegradable polymer used in sustained-release injectable implants.
Client Needs: A materials scientist needed to reduce specialty PLGA pellets into a fine, uniform powder for a high-performance bio-scaffold coating.
Challenges: The polymer was elastic at ambient temperatures; mechanical milling caused the material to deform or "gum up" the equipment rather than fracturing.
Solution: BOC Sciences employed a comprehensive cryogenic micronization workflow, utilizing liquid nitrogen to rapidly drop the material temperature well below its specific glass transition point before initiating high-impact milling. This thermal control strategy ensured a brittle fracture of the polymer matrix, preventing any material melting or sticking within the chamber and allowing for the production of a free-flowing powder with highly controlled morphology.
Outcome: We successfully produced a free-flowing powder with a D50 of 15μm, which integrated perfectly into the client's coating formulation without altering the polymer's molecular weight.
Utilizing advanced Jet Milling technology, we facilitate high-energy collisions between particles via supersonic gas streams. BOC Sciences' precision classification systems allow real-time adjustments of grinding pressure and feed rates, effectively eliminating coarse fractions and minimizing fines. This ensures an exceptionally narrow Particle Size Distribution (PSD), significantly enhancing the uniformity and dissolution rate of the final powder product.
For heat-sensitive active ingredients, we utilize the Joule-Thomson effect inherent in jet milling, where the cooling effect of expanding gas offsets frictional heat. This instantaneous cooling mechanism keeps the grinding chamber at low temperatures. BOC Sciences also provides inert gas (e.g., Nitrogen) circulation systems to prevent oxidative degradation while fully preserving the chemical structure and biological activity of unstable compounds.
High-energy impacts during micronization can induce phase transitions or amorphization. Leveraging extensive solid-state characterization expertise, BOC Sciences precisely controls energy input by adjusting impact intensity and frequency during process development. We utilize XRPD and thermal analysis tools (DSC/TGA) to monitor polymorphic stability post-micronization, ensuring that critical quality attributes remain consistent after significant particle size reduction.
Reducing particle size is the primary method for increasing specific surface area and boosting dissolution rates of poorly soluble drugs. BOC Sciences' platform can reduce particles to micron or even sub-micron levels, directly enhancing wettability and solubility in media. Beyond size reduction, we optimize powder flowability to address common post-micronization electrostatic agglomeration, ensuring smooth performance in downstream manufacturing processes.
When handling highly potent compounds, containment is the core priority. BOC Sciences employs highly integrated Isolator Technology, enclosing micronization equipment within a negative-pressure environment. This fully closed system, coupled with HEPA filtration, achieves sub-micron grinding while completely eliminating the risk of material leakage or cross-contamination, providing the highest standard of physical protection for sensitive and high-toxicity chemical species.
BOC Sciences' ability to hit our D90 target consistently across multiple batches has been impressive. Their technical reports are detailed and provide exactly what our R&D team needs for formulation planning.
— Dr. Leonard W., Principal Scientist, Pharma Solutions Group
We were concerned about material loss during milling for our high-value compound. The team at BOC Sciences delivered a yield that exceeded our expectations while maintaining perfect PSD specifications.
— Jonathan S., Head of Procurement, Innovative Biotech Startup
Their understanding of cryogenic milling was key for our project. They solved a material sticking issue that other vendors couldn't handle, saving us months of development time.
— Dr. Ananya R., Senior Materials Engineer, Global Specialty Chemicals
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