Navigating the Transition from Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) in Pharmaceuticals

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been a critical excipient in pharmaceuticals for decades, offering exceptional opacity, whiteness, and stability. However, evolving regulatory demands are driving the industry to explore alternatives. Resolian provides advanced analytical and characterization support to guide this transition while ensuring product quality and compliance.

How We Can Help

We can apply a holistic approach to evaluate TiO2 alternatives, combining decades of expertise in analytical chemistry and physical characterization techniques.

Stability and Compatibility 

Understanding the stability of TiO2 replacements is critical for maintaining product performance over its shelf life. We analyse how alternatives interact with active ingredients and excipients evaluating:

  • Long-term and accelerated stability, monitoring degradation products and interactions through HPLC/UPLC and mass spectrometry.
  • Thermal stability and moisture sensitivity under storage and processing conditions with DSCTGA, and DVS.
  • Dissolution studies to assess the impact of TiO2 alternatives on drug release profiles and bioavailability.

Material Behaviour and Functionality 

The physical characteristics of TiO2 alternatives directly impact their efficacy as opacifiers or colourants. We assess:

  • Particle size, distribution, and morphology using laser diffractiondynamic image analysis, and SEM.
  • Surface properties and reactivity through BET and iGC-SEA for adhesion and coating optimisation.
  • Crystallinity and structural and chemical changes via XRD and FTIR.

Appearance and Uniformity

Maintaining visual consistency and achieving the required opacity are challenges for TiO2 alternatives.
We examine material uniformity and appearance using visual inspection and light microscopy.

Regulatory and Safety Compliance

Ensuring that alternatives meet stringent regulatory requirements is essential.


We also conduct risk assessments for elemental impurities and nitrosamines and perform extractables & leachables testing to support regulatory submissions.

Why Resolian?

With extensive expertise in analytical chemistry and physical characterization, Resolian ensures your transition to TiO2 alternatives is seamless and compliant.

Ready to explore safe and effective alternatives to TiO2?
Ensure your products meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and compliance.

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Zhiyang Zhao, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Zhiyang Zhao, Ph.D., serves as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Resolian. Dr. Zhao has over 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience with special focus on drug metabolism and bioanalysis of small and large molecules in drug discovery and development. Dr. Zhao has previously held positions at Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Amgen. Before joining Resolian in 2015, Dr. Zhao served as Site Director of Preclinical Research at Amgen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for over a decade. 

Currently, Dr. Zhao serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and as Editor-in-Chief of Drug Metabolism & Bioanalysis Letters, a journal by Bentham Science, which publishes in all areas of drug metabolism and bioanalysis. Dr. Zhao received his Ph.D. degree in Medicinal Chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic and State University (popularly known as Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

Patrick Bennett

Chief Executive Officer

Patrick Bennett has over 35 years of experience in pharmaceutical analysis and laboratory management. Now Chief Business Officer at Resolian, Patrick’s experience includes the roles of Strategic Marketing Director for Pharma with Thermo Fisher Scientific, LabCorp, and Vice President of Strategy and Development with PPD. 

Patrick earned a B.S. degree in Toxicology and a M.S. degree in Pharmacology from the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health at St. John’s University and an M.B.A in International Marketing from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.