How Do You Prepare a Tablet Dosage Form?

The production of tablets is a complex and multi-step process where a production chemist ensures that the desired amount of drug material is delivered in the right form, at the appropriate time at the proper rate, and in the desired location. In this article, how do you prepare a tablet dosage form, we will talk about different methods of granulation. This article will help you a lot by providing information about the methods of granulation and manufacturing of tablets.

How Do You Prepare a Tablet Dosage?

The choice of the tablet manufacturing process is depend upon many factors including the compression property of that chemical substance, the particle size of the chemical substance and excipients, and also the stability of the chemical substance during the tablet manufacturing process.

In the Manufacturing of Tablets many steps are performed;

Step 1: The mixing of chemical or therapeutic agents with the excipients.

Step 2: Methods of Granulation of the mixed powder. (This method will not be performed during the direct compression method)

Step 3: Mixing granules or powders with other excipients. (Lubricants)

Step 4: Compression into tablets.

Method of Tablet Preparation:

For the preparation of Tablet Dosage Forms, there are three Methods of Tablet Compression are used.

1) Wet granulation method

2) Dry granulation method (slugging or roller compaction)

3) Direct compression method

1) Wet Granulation Method:

The wet granulation method is the most widely used method and one of the oldest methods used in the preparation of tablet dosage forms. In the method of wet granulation, the granulation will meet all the physical requirements for the compression of a good tablet. The main disadvantage of wet granulation methods is that this method has many separate steps involved, the process is very time taking and labor is very important to carry out all these steps, especially in the case of the large-scale tablet manufacturing process in industries.

The powdered and the active ingredients are sticking together to form a mass and are then converted into granules before being compressed into tablets.

The main and essential steps that have to be done during the preparation of tablets or during the methods of granulation includes weighing, mixing, granulation process, screening the damp mass, drying, dry screening, lubrication, and then finally the compression of the tablet.

The process involved the blending and mixing of active ingredients, diluents, and disintegrants.

The mixed material is then sifted through a screen of suitable mesh to remove or break the lumps.

The sifted ingredients are transformed into a damp mass by mixing and adding to the binder solution. The damp mass is forced through 6-8 mesh screens for granulation.

In the oven, wet granules are dried. The particles may forms lumps and for that reason after drying dry screening is required.

The remaining quantity of lubricant and disintegrants is added to the dried granules.

Finally, the granules are compressed into tablets of desired shapes and sizes.

The types of equipment that are involved in the wet granulation methods are depending upon the size or quantity of the batch means how many tablets are going to be prepared.

Advantages of Wet Granulation:

This is a very useful method for the preparation of tablets that contains low contractions of chemical agents.
Most of the tablet manufacturing industries are built for granulation manufacturing.
The tablets prepared by wet granulation methods are accountable or responsible for post-processing unit operations like tablet coating methods.

Disadvantages of Wet Granulation:

In the wet granulation process solvents are required due to which many concerns occur;
In the presence of solvents (Ethanol, Isopropanol, Methyl chloride, and Water), drug degradation may occur. To minimize or overcome this an alcoholic or hydroalcoholic granulation medium should be used.
During the drying process, the drug may form precipitation or maybe crystallize due to solubility in the granulation fluid.

2) Dry Granulation Method:

The dry granulation method is also known as slugging, double compression, or roller compaction method. The manufacturing of tablets through this process is done when the ingredients used are sensitive to moisture and also during the drying process can not resist the temperature. Due to such conditions, the dry granulation method is used for the preparation of tablet dosage forms.

The main steps that are used in the dry granulation methods are;

Weighing — Mixing — Slugging — dry screening — lubrication — compression.

For the formation of a cohesive slug powdered binders such as acacia or microcrystalline cellulose are added to the dry powder.

Generally, lubricants are added to reduce powder sticking or adhesion to the punches and to make easy ejection of intact slug from the dies.

By compressing powdered material with excipients, large slugs are obtained which are then passed through a mesh screen breaking them into granules. The remaining lubricants are added to the granulation by gently blending and finally compressed into tablets.

In the compaction method, the densified powder passed through high-pressure rollers which compress the powder and remove the air. The densified powder was reduced to uniform granules. Now, lubricants are added and compressed into tablets. Due to the excessive pressure to obtain cohesion of certain ingredients, a longer dissolution rate may have occurred.

Advantages of Dry Granulation:

The slugging and roller compaction require common excipients grades.
In dry granulation methods, there is no solvents or heat are required.

Disadvantages of Dry Granulation:

For granulation, through roller compaction, there are specialist types of equipment required.
Segregation can be caused post mixing due to which powder flow issues may occur.
The final tablets which is prepared by the dry granulation become softer as compared to the tablet prepared by the wet granulation methods. Problems may occur during post-tableting techniques, for Example— film coating.
There is a lot of dust that occurs during roller compaction and slugging which causes a reduction in the tablet yield.

3) Direct Compression Method:

In the direct comparison method, the tablet is compressed directly from the powdered materials. As the pharmaceutical industry continuously works on increasing the efficacy of tableting operations and reducing the space occupied as well as cost and labor, So, much attention is given to these methods of tablet manufacturing.

Few substances like ammonium chloride, chlorides, bromide, iodides, chlorates, nitrates and permanganates, and salts of potassium, etc. have cohesive properties as well as good flow properties that's why these substances are manufactured by direct compression methods.

In direct compression methods, the vehicles should also have good compressibility as well as flow properties.

Advantages of Direct Compression:

The advantage of the direct compression method is that it is a very simple method because granulation steps are not performed in this method and due to this, the method becomes more cost-effective as compared to the other method.
In the direct compression method, the use of water or solvents is not required, and also heating is not required, which is a very costly process.
The process of lubrication is performed in the same vessel in which the powder mixing s performed which minimizes the material transfer losses and also reduces the contamination of types of equipment.

Disadvantages of Direct Compression:

In the direct comparison method, expensive or specialized excipients are required.
In this method there may be powder flow issues arises in the tablet machine.
The final tablets which is prepared by the dry granulation become softer as compared to the tablet prepared by the wet granulation methods. Problems may occur during post-tableting techniques, for Example— film coating.
In the direct compression method, the colorants are not used in the formulation because of mottled appearance can be occurred in the final dosage form.

I hope you like my article How Do You Prepare a Tablet Dosage Form? I give information about the different methods that are used in the granulation methods. If you have any questions or queries related to the article then feel free to ask in the comment section.

1

How Do You Prepare a Tablet Dosage Form?

How Do You Prepare a Tablet Dosage?