AN03 Real-Time Feed Frame Monitoring on an FFSim™ Simulator Using Viavi MicroNIR® PAT-U
The MicroNIR PAT-U (VIAVI Solutions Inc.) miniaturized NIR spectrometer was integrated into the Expo Process Analytics FFSim™ feed frame simulator through a custom probe holder interface (AGM-GM00-820), eliminating the need for a conventional probe or sapphire window. This probe-free setup provides direct optical access to the flowing powder blend for inline blend uniformity monitoring.
A feasibility study was conducted using a lactose–paracetamol formulation with nine API concentration levels (80–120% of nominal, 5% increments) at 10 RPM. Quantitative calibration models for blend uniformity assessment were developed using PLS regression (5 latent variables, SNV and first-derivative preprocessing). The model achieved R² = 0.99, RMSECV = 0.89, slope = 0.99 and negligible bias in cross-validation, demonstrating robust quantitative performance and supporting the use of the integrated setup for real-time blend uniformity monitoring.