INTRODUCTION TO TABLETS

Tablets may be defined as the solid unit dosage forms containing one or more
medicaments and excipients, prepared either by molding or compression. It
comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients in powder or granule
form.

The excipients include diluents, binders or granulating agents , glidants and

lubricants to ensure efficient tablet compression, disintegrants to promote tablet
break-up in the digestive tract , sweeteners or flavors to enhance taste and
pigments to make tablets visually attractive.

ADVANTAGES:

1. Tablets offer the greatest compatibilities of all oral dosage forms for the
greatest dose precision and the least content variability.

2. Their cost is lowest of all oral dosage form.

3. They are lightest and compact.

4. Easiest and cheapest to package and ship.

5. They have better physical and chemical stability and exert physiological activity
of drug.

6. Special forms to facilitate patient compliance eg: - sustained release, extended

release

formulations.

7. Suitable for large scale economical production.

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Unsuitable for infants and children and patients who cannot swallow.

2. Delayed onset of action compared to liquid orals and parenterals.

3. Drugs with poor wetting, slow dissolution properties, optimum absorption high
in GIT or combination of above features make tablet manufacturing difficult.

4. Bitter tasting drugs, drugs with objectionable odor or drugs that are sensitive to
oxygen or atmospheric moisture may require encapsulation or entrapment prior
to compression.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF TABLETS

They are generally divided as

A. Compressed tablets

B. Moulded tablets/ Tablets triturates.

CLASSIFICATION OF TABLETS ACCORDING TO USAGE:

(A)Tablets ingested orally:

1. Compressed tablet, e.g. Paracetamol tablet

2.Multiple compressed tablet

a. Layered tablets

b. Press coated/Dry coated Tablets

3. Repeat action tablet

4. Delayed release tablet, e.g. Enteric coated Bisacodyl tablet

5. Sugar coated tablet, e.g. Multivitamin tablet

6. Film coated tablet, e.g. Metronidazole tablet

7. Chewable tablet, e.g. Antacid tablet

(B) Tablets used in oral cavity:

1. Buccal tablet, e.g. Vitamin-C tablet

2. Sublingual tablet, e.g. Nitroglycerin tablet

3. Troches or lozenges

4. Dental cone

(C) Tablets used to prepare solution:

1. Effervescent tablet, e.g. Dispirin tablet (Aspirin)

2. Dispensing tablet, e.g. Enzyme tablet (Digiplex)

3. Hypodermic tablet

4. Tablet triturates e.g. Enzyme tablet

(D) Tablets administered by other Routes

1. Implantation tablets

2. Vaginal tablets

FORMULATION OF TABLETS:

In addition to active ingredient, tablet contains a number of inert materials known

as additives or excipients.

Different excipients are:

1. Diluents

2. Binders and adhesives

3. Disintegrants

4. Lubricants and glidants

5. Colouring agents

6. Flavoring agents

7. Sweetening agents

1. Diluents (Fillers)
Diluents are used to make required bulk of the tablet when the drug dosage is
inadequate to produce the bulk. Secondary reason is to provide better tablet
properties such as improve cohesion, to permit use of direct compression
manufacturing or to promote flow.

2. Binders and Adhesives: These materials are added to hold powders together to
form granules to promote cohesive compacts for directly compressed tablet.

Example: Acacia, tragacanth- Solution for 10-25% Conc. Cellulose derivatives-

Methylcellulose, Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose,. Starch paste5-15% solution.

3. Disintegrants: Added to a tablet formulation to facilitate its breaking or

disintegration when it comes in contact with water in GIT.

4. Lubricants: These are added for the following reasons;

• Prevents adhesion of the tablet material to the surface of dies and punches.

• Reduce inter-particular friction; improve the rate of flow of tablet granulation.

• Facilitate ejection of the tablets from the die cavity.

Example: Lubricants- Stearic acid, Stearic acid salt – Stearic acid, Magnesium
stearate, Talc,

5. Coloring agent: The use of colors and dyes in a tablet has three purposes:

(i) It makes the tablet more esthetic in appearance.

(ii) Colour helps the manufacturer to identify the product during its preparation.

All colorants used in pharmaceuticals must be approved and certified by the FDA
(food & Drug

Administration).

6. Flavoring agents: Flavors are usually limited to chewable tablets or other

tablets intended to dissolve in the mouth.
6. Sweetening agents: The use of sweeteners is primarily limited to chewable
tablets. e.g - Sugar.

MANUFACTURING METHODS OF TABLETS:

In the tablet-pressing process, it is important that all ingredients be dry,

powdered, and of uniform grain size as much as possible.

Powders that can be mixed well do not require granulation and can be
compressed into tablets

through Direct Compression.

The manufacturing of tablet dosage form is basically done by two methods, such
as

1) Wet Granulation (most products)

2) Direct Compression

WET GRANULATION: Wet Granulation is a process of size enlargement whereby

small

particles are gathered into larger permanent aggregates in which the original
particles can still be

identified. Granulation usually refers to processes whereby agglomerates with

sizes ranging from

0.1 to 2.0 mm are produced. The most important reasons for a granulation step
prior to tableting

are to:

• Improve the flow properties of the mix and hence the uniformity of the dose.

• Prevent segregation of the ingredients.

• Improve the compression characteristics of the tablet mixture.

• Reduce dust during handling

The flow ability of the tablet mixture improves because the granules are larger
and more

spherical than the primary particles. Larger particles usually flow better than small
particles (e.g.

compare the flow ability of crystal sugar with powder sugar). In the hopper of
tablet machines,

small particles tend to segregate from the larger ones because of the vibration of
the machine.

This causes higher concentrations of small particles at the bottom of the hopper.
After

granulation all particles are bound tight in the right amount in the granules, which
prevents

segregation of the small particles

Equipment’s used in wet granulation method:

1. Electronic Balance

2. Sieve

3. Rapid Mass Granulator (RMG)

4. Multimill

5. Fluid Bed Dryer

6. Double Cone Blender

7. Vat for the preparation of granulating fluid

DIRECT COMPRESSION: In the direct compression method, directly compressible

filler (also
called a filler-binder) is blended with the active(s), a lubricant and a disintegrating
agent. Such

free flowing directly compressible fillers make direct compression possible and
practical. These

include anhydrous lactose, unmilled dicalcium phosphate dihydrate,

microcrystalline cellulose

(e.g., Avicel PH 101), and modified (spray processed) lactose (e.g., Ludipress).
Modified starch,

e.g. Starch 1500 flows better and compresses better than original starch, but are
not as effective

as other materials as the sole filler-binder. Generally, Starch 1500 is used as a

component of a

direct compression filler system, most likely for its disintegrating property, i.e., as
a more

compactible and better flowing substitute for starch. Certain materials like
mannitol, sorbitol and

modified sucrose are particularly useful in formulating direct compression

chewable tablets.

Direct compression method can be classified as

a) Direct Compression with direct compressible materials and

b) Direct Compression by Slugging method

Equipment’s used in direct compression method:

1. Electronic Balance

2. Sieve

3. Double cone blender

4. Rotary Press