A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING TABLET DISINTEGRATABILITY

Abstract

Tablet disintegration is important to ensure drug release, and disintegrants are added to tablet formulations to promote tablet disintegration. The influence of less-understood factors affecting tablet disintegratability were explored in this study, with the aim to uncover complementary factors that can be harnessed for formulation design and process development. The factors investigated include disintegration medium and tablet temperatures, spatial distribution of disintegrant particles, as well as type and concentration of lubricants. Tablets were prepared using disintegrants with different mechanisms of action to evaluate their relative sensitivity to the investigated factors, as well as to probe mechanistic understanding. Results showed that all the above-mentioned factors affected tablet disintegratability, with some tablet formulations showing greater sensitivity than others. A visiometric disintegration test was also evaluated in this study and found to determine disintegration time more precisely. Together, the findings and the visiometric test method would significantly benefit tablet formulation and process optimization.