How We Tamed Magnesium Threonate: Granulation R&D in Action
A Magnesium with a Mind of Its Own
Magnesium L-threonate is a premium, cognitive-support form of magnesium — but it’s one of the most technically difficult actives to process. When a client came to us asking for pure magnesium threonate capsules (no blends, no fillers), we knew the challenge wouldn’t be in formulation — it would be in granulation and flowability.
This is how our team overcame broken equipment, failed flow tests, and non-compressible powder to deliver a stable, capsule-ready product.
Magnesium L-threonate is a premium, cognitive-support form of magnesium — but it’s one of the most technically difficult actives to process. When a client came to us asking for pure magnesium threonate capsules (no blends, no fillers), we knew the challenge wouldn’t be in formulation — it would be in granulation and flowability.
This is how our team overcame broken equipment, failed flow tests, and non-compressible powder to deliver a stable, capsule-ready product.
A Magnesium with a Mind of Its Own
The Core Problem: A Powder That Refused to Behave
From the start, the raw magnesium threonate had major physical limitations:
- Terrible flowability — measured by an extremely poor angle of repose
- Highly cohesive and fluffy, prone to arching in hoppers
- When compacted or blended, it either:
- Turned to dense concrete, damaging equipment
- Or refused to compress at all, remaining dust-like
Turning to Dry Granulation: Our In-House Compaction Saved the Project
At this point, we shifted strategy. BF‑EssE owns its own dry granulation roll compactor, specifically designed for projects like this — where high-load actives need structure without excipient dilution.
We used a pure compaction process:
At this point, we shifted strategy. BF‑EssE owns its own dry granulation roll compactor, specifically designed for projects like this — where high-load actives need structure without excipient dilution.
We used a pure compaction process:
- No binders, just mechanical force
- Optimized roller pressure and gap width
- Real-time density adjustments to avoid brittleness
Dry roller compactor at BF-EssE facility
Final Result: Clean Granules, Perfectly Encapsulated
The final granules:
- Passed flow and fill tests
- Had a tight weight range for encapsulation
- Maintained label claim purity
- Were mechanically stable during capsule filling
- Too much compression force
- Dry roller compactor
- Initial stage of the powder
Why This Matters: Not All CMOs Can Handle It
Most manufacturers would’ve rejected this powder or diluted it down into blends. At BF‑Esse, we:
- Diagnosed the physical behavior of the powder
- Applied granulation science
- Used our own equipment to control every step
Granulation Isn’t Just for Tablets
Dry granulation is often associated with tablet-making — but in this case, it made high-purity encapsulation possible. This project showed that R&D capability plus in-house hardware is a winning combination when standard approaches fail.
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