Developing a stable suspension is one of the most complex challenges in pharmaceutical and chemical formulation. Whether dealing with poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) or specialized agrochemicals, achieving physical stability—preventing caking, sedimentation, and Ostwald ripening—requires deep expertise in colloid science and rheology. BOC Sciences provides end-to-end suspension formulation services, ranging from initial particle engineering to final vehicle optimization. Our goal is to transform challenging molecules into robust, homogenous, and user-friendly liquid dosage forms through a data-driven approach that balances thermodynamic stability with kinetic performance.
BOC Sciences offers expert suspension formulation services, ensuring optimal particle size distribution and long-term physical stability for your complex drug products.
BOC Sciences utilizes advanced analytical tools and processing equipment to address the specific hurdles of liquid-dispersed systems, ensuring high precision in particle size and rheological behavior.
We customize our suspension platforms to meet the specific requirements of different delivery routes and industrial applications.
Review of API properties, target dosage, and specific stability challenges (e.g., rapid sedimentation or poor wetting).
Screening of surfactants and polymers to create a stable flocculated or deflocculated system tailored to the application.
Executing rigorous testing including particle size distribution, rheology, and thermal cycling to ensure long-term robustness.
Delivery of the final formulation recipe, processing parameters, and comprehensive stability data reports.
For BC Class II/IV drugs, we utilize nanosuspension technology to increase the effective surface area of the active ingredient. By reducing particles to the sub-micron range through high-energy milling, we significantly enhance the dissolution rate and absorption kinetics compared to traditional coarse formulations, ensuring that even the most hydrophobic molecules achieve their intended functional performance.
Small particles naturally tend to dissolve and redeposit onto larger ones over time, leading to significant stability failure and shelf-life reduction. We employ specialized crystal growth inhibitors and tailored surfactants that specifically adsorb to the crystal surface, effectively lowering interfacial tension and maintaining the desired particle size distribution across varying storage temperatures and durations.
A successful suspension must be viscous enough to prevent rapid sedimentation during long-term storage but fluid enough to pour or pump easily during use. We design sophisticated thixotropic systems that exhibit specialized shear-thinning behavior, which allows the formulation to liquefy instantly when shaken or agitated and return to a protective gel-like state when at rest to maintain homogeneity.
The formation of a hard, inseparable mass at the bottom of a container is a primary failure mode for liquid-dispersed systems. Our laboratory addresses this by engineering controlled flocculation systems using precise electrolyte balances and polymeric bridging agents. This creates a loosely associated network of particles that may settle over time but can be instantly and completely re-dispersed with minimal mechanical effort or gentle agitation.
From micron-sized dispersions to complex nano-colloids, BOC Sciences provides the expertise and instrumentation needed to solve your most difficult stability hurdles. Contact us today for a technical assessment of your formulation needs.
Our formulators possess advanced backgrounds in surface chemistry, enabling them to tackle issues like zeta potential collapse and irreversible aggregation.
We use sophisticated rheometers to map the yield stress and flow behavior of every formulation, ensuring consistency across different batches.
Our platform allows for the rapid testing of dozens of stabilizer combinations, significantly reducing the timeline for prototype development.
We provide detailed processing instructions, including impeller speeds and homogenization pressures, to facilitate a smooth transition to production.
Client Requirement: The client sought to develop a user-friendly, multi-dose oral antibiotic suspension that maintains strict dose uniformity throughout its shelf life without requiring heavy industrial agitation before administration.
Challenge: An oral antibiotic suspension exhibited dense "caking" at the bottom of the bottle after 2 weeks of storage, making it impossible to re-disperse for accurate dosing.
Solution: Our team performed a comprehensive rheological assessment and identified that the system was "deflocculated," where particles settled slowly but eventually packed into a hard, inseparable mass. To rectify this, we engineered a structured vehicle using a synergistic combination of Xanthan Gum for viscosity and a controlled flocculating agent, monobasic potassium phosphate. This specific electrolyte balance reduced the zeta potential to a level that favored the formation of "loose flocs." These flocs create a porous, three-dimensional network that settles more rapidly but remains highly susceptible to shear, allowing for near-instantaneous redispersal.
Outcome: The reformulated product showed a sedimentation volume (F) of 0.85 and was easily re-suspended with three gentle inversions, maintaining dose uniformity.
Client Requirement: A pharmaceutical partner required a specialized formulation strategy to rescue a poorly soluble oncology drug candidate that had previously failed to meet therapeutic plasma levels in early-stage trials.
Challenge: A BCS Class IV oncology candidate showed negligible absorption in animal models due to its large crystalline particle size (>50 microns).
Solution: To maximize the effective surface area and dissolution rate, we utilized high-energy wet bead milling with a planetary mill to engineer a stable nanosuspension. Our formulation scientists screened an extensive library of stabilizers, including various Poloxamers and PVP grades, to identify the optimal steric and electrostatic barrier. By precisely controlling the milling duration and cooling parameters, we prevented the high-energy nanoparticles from aggregating or undergoing Ostwald ripening. This process successfully transitioned the API from a coarse dispersion into a sophisticated, sub-micron colloidal system with enhanced kinetic performance.
Outcome: The particle size was reduced to a stable D50 of 220nm. Subsequent studies showed a 400% increase in Cmax, allowing the project to proceed to efficacy evaluation.
Client Requirement: An agrochemical manufacturer needed a high-concentration flowable concentrate that could withstand extreme environmental conditions during global shipping and seasonal storage.
Challenge: A high-load (500g/L) agrochemical suspension concentrate suffered from severe syneresis (liquid separation) and particle growth when exposed to thermal cycling (-10°C to 40°C).
Solution: Through advanced Turbiscan optical profiling and multi-light scattering analysis, we pinpointed the exact onset of physical instability to a specific surfactant-to-solids ratio. We implemented a robust dual-stabilizer system that utilized a high-molecular-weight polymeric dispersant to provide long-range steric repulsion. Additionally, we incorporated a specialized anti-freeze agent to maintain osmotic balance and prevent crystal nucleation during the drastic temperature fluctuations of thermal cycling. This comprehensive approach ensured that the high-load formulation remained homogenous and free of significant phase separation despite the high solids content.
Outcome: The formulation passed 12 weeks of accelerated aging and thermal cycling without significant crystal growth or phase separation.
BOC Sciences can handle water-soluble, oil-soluble, and various particulate active ingredients, supporting single-phase and multi-phase suspension systems. We select suitable dispersants and stabilizers, optimizing formulation and process design to ensure uniform suspensions with stable particle distribution, meeting R&D and process development needs.
Suspension stability depends on particle size, dispersant type, and dispersion uniformity. BOC Sciences controls stirring speed, dispersion energy, additive ratios, and temperature, combined with optimized formulation design, to achieve long-term physical stability and uniform particle distribution, ensuring consistent batch performance.
For high-concentration or easily sedimenting materials, we optimize dispersants, shear dispersion processes, and temperature control to enhance viscosity and particle uniformity, minimizing sedimentation or aggregation risks while maintaining stable and reliable suspension performance.
BOC Sciences’ suspension platform flexibly supports laboratory-scale and pilot-scale production. Customized formulation design and process parameters ensure each batch maintains consistent particle distribution, viscosity, and stability, facilitating R&D validation and process optimization.
Using precision stirring and dispersion equipment, standardized process parameters, and online monitoring, BOC Sciences ensures each batch maintains consistent particle size, dispersion uniformity, and physical stability. Combined with formulation optimization and process documentation, this delivers reliable and reproducible suspension performance for R&D and production.
We had been struggling with a settling problem for months. BOC Sciences fixed the flocculation balance in our injectable suspension in record time. Truly impressed with their depth of colloid knowledge.
— Dr. Markus S., Senior Formulator
Their ability to reach sub-200nm particle sizes while maintaining low viscosity was the key to our project's success. The characterization data provided was comprehensive and clear.
— Jennifer W., R&D Manager
BOC Sciences didn't just give us a recipe; they gave us a robust process. Their rheology reports helped us understand how our product would behave in large-scale filling machines.
— Thomas H., Operations Director
If you have any questions or encounter issues on this page, please don't hesitate to reach out. Our support team is ready to assist you.
