Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

A Comparative Study of the Compaction Properties of Binary and Bilayer Tablets of Direct Compression Excipients

Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin , Sami Mohammed Albawani, Muhammad Wahab Amjad

Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

For correspondence:- Mohd Iqbal Mohd Amin Email: mciamin@pharmacy.ukm.my Tel:+60392897690

Received: 21 December 2011 Accepted: 17 July 2012 Published: 16 August 2012

Citation: Iqbal Mohd Amin MC, Albawani SM, Amjad MW. A Comparative Study of the Compaction Properties of Binary and Bilayer Tablets of Direct Compression Excipients. Trop J Pharm Res 2012; 11(4):585-594 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v11i4.9

© 2012 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To comparatively evaluate the tableting properties of binary mixtures and bilayer tablets containing plastic deformation and brittle fracture excipients.

Methods: Binary mixture and bilayer tablets of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), ethyl cellulose, anhydrous lactose and dextrate were prepared by direct compression and the effect of compaction pressure on the materials was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). True, bulk and tap densities of excipients were determined. Furthermore, Heckel equation and Carr’s index were used to analyze the compression behaviour of the tablets.

Results: The flowability of dextrate, based on Heckel and Carr’s Index data, was superior to that of other powder excipients tested. No significant difference was observed between the tensile strength of binary and bilayer tablets of the same composition. However, the tensile strength of binary and bilayer tablets of different compositions varied significantly (p < 0.001), e.g., the tensile strength of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)/ethyl cellulose (EC) tablets (50/50) was 1.77 MPa while that of MCC/dextrate at 50/50 composition was 1.47 MPa.

Conclusion: Binary mixture and bilayer tablets show similar behaviour when formulated using excipients of similar deformation properties. However, their behavior changes when excipients with different deformation properties are blended together.

Keywords: Binary mixture, Bilayer tablet, Brittle fracture, Plastic deformation, Tensile strength