Sticky dispensing system

Product design and development consultancy 42 Technology has developed a precision powder dispensing system that could accelerate drug development programmes.

This technology - called ‘sticky web’ - is capable of dispensing tiny amounts of powder, typically from 0.1 to 100mg, at high volume manufacturing speeds. It is based on 42T’s discovery that the quantity of powder adhering to a piece of sticky tape is directly proportional to the surface area of the tape.

The consultancy has subsequently developed the core technology, several adhesives and designs for a high-speed powder dispense drum and production machine capable of delivering up to 60,000 doses per hour with accuracies of better than 4 per cent.

Sticky web takes its name from adhesives being ‘printed’ onto an edible or inert web and the sticky surface then being coated with powder; the powdered areas can then be cut, folded, rolled or further processed.

The approach was developed initially by 42T and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to help remove a time-consuming, costly stage in the development and approval of new drugs, vaccines and other biologically-active materials, but the approach works with virtually any powder.