Sunday, December 6, 2015

EXPERIMENT 1 : UNIFORMITY OF DIAMETER, THICKNESS AND HARDNESS

OBJECTIVE
1.To test the uniformity of hardness, diameter and thickness for 10 samples of tablet.
2.To determine the ability for tablet to withstand sufficient mechanical strength and fracture/erosion during manufacturing and handling.
3.To enhance the patient compliance to drug with suitable hardness and
attractive appearance


INTRODUCTION
Each tablet and capsule will have similar reaction when metabolized in the body with the uniformity in disintegration and dissolution of the tablet and capsule .There are also non-pharmacopoeial standard involve bioavailability of the tablets and capsules.
Besides,there are a number of procedures which apply specifically to tablets and capsules, not only to ensure that a tablet or a capsule exerts its full pharmacological actions, but also to determine the uniformity of the physical properties of the official tablet/capsule, irrespective of the manufacturer.
All the experiments below that will be conducted will show the application of a number of selected physical and dosage performance tests on the samples of commercially available tablets and capsules.



MATERIALS AND APPARATUS
Materials: 10 tablets
Apparatus: Weighing boat, Tablet Testing Instrument, forceps


PROCEDURES
1.10 tablets are selected and the tests for uniformity of diameter, thickness and hardness are carried out using the Tablet Testing Instrument (PHARMATEST PTB 311)
2.The deviation of individual unit from the mean diameter should not exceed +/-5% for tablets with diameter of less than 12.5 and +/-3% for diameter of 12.5 mm or more.
Tablets used in this experiment are Redon.








Results :
Tablets
Thickness(mm)
Hardness(N)
Diameter(mm)
Deviation of diameter(%)
1
4.06
236.11
12.75
0
2
4.17
268.25
12.75
0
3
4.08
241.28
12.74
-0.08
4
4.02
284.88
12.77
0.16
5
4.22
245.71
12.74
-0.08
6
3.96
221.14
12.74
-0.08
7
4.03
239.25
12.74
-0.08
8
3.99
261.05
12.74
-0.08
9
4.06
267.70
12.76
0.08
10
4.00
228.53
12.74
-0.08
Average
4.06
249.39
12.75
0

Deviation of diameter(%) =  x   100%
                                            Where x is the diameter of each individual tablet



DISCUSSION
From the tolerances, we know that if the diameter of tablets is more than 12.55 mm, so the deviation should be +/-3%. If the diameter of tablets is less than 12.55 mm, thus the deviation should be +/-5%. From the results, we find that all the diameters of the tablets are more than 12.55 mm. So, the deviation should be +/-3%. The results for diameter are accurate because all the deviations of the tablets are less than +/-3%. This means that the tablets generally have uniform diameter and size.
The second aspect is the thickness. The thickness of tablets is critical to their therapeutic effectiveness. All tablets, where the active ingredient comprises a major part of the tablet are required to meet a weight variation test. It is assumed that providing the weight of the tablet is kept within defined limits that the amount of active drug available to the user will remain the same.
Tablet thickness is an important quality control test for tablet packaging.Very thick tablet affects packaging either in blister or plastic container. Tablet thickness can vary without any change in its weight. This may depends on the die of the tablet and the force used to compress the powder. It also can be influenced by the difference density of granules and the speed of compression. From the result, we find that the mean of the thickness is 4.06 mm. It is generally the same as each of the individual tablet. So, it means that the tablets also have uniformity in the thickness.
Furthermore,the third aspect is hardness. The hardness of tablets depends on the weight of the material used, space between the upper and lower punches at the time of compression and pressure applied during the compression. The hardness aspect is important in order to predict the breaking point and structural integrity of a tablet under conditions of storage, transportation, and handling before usage. From the result, we find that the average of hardness of the tablets is 249.39 N which means equal to about 25.42 kg. The instrument measures the force required to break the tablets. Thus, the value of 249.39 N shows that 249.39 N forces are needed to break the tablets.
Oral tablets normally have a hardness of 4 to 10kg. However, hypodermic and chewable tablets are usually much softer which have a hardness of 3 kg and some sustained release tablets are much harder which have a hardness of 10 -20 kg. Since the tablets which have been test have hardness of 25.42kg, so we assume that the tablets are sustained release tablets. If the tablets are too hard, it may be difficult to be dissolve during the dissolution test and if the tablets are too soft, it may be cannot stand the pressure or force that applied to it. Therefore, we must design tablets that have medium level of hardness to ensure that it can easily dissolve and not easily break.



CONCLUSION
1.The uniformity of the diameter is important in order to design drugs with similar size and shape, so that the patient will not confuse either the drugs have different amount of active ingredients or not.
2.The thickness of the tablets is important in order to package the tablets either in blister or plastic container.
3.The hardness of the tablets is important in order to ensure the drugs or tablets have effective hardness that will makes them dissolve in dissolution, but cannot easily break due to any pressure or forces applied to them.


REFERENCES
2.http://www.slideshare.net/mallikarjunvasm/quality-control-tests-for-tablets
3.http://www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidances/ucm377938.pdf



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