Excipients used in the

manufacture of tablets
5.Glidants
• Glidants act to enhance the flow properties of the powders within the hopper and
into the tablet die in the tablet press.
• The reduced friction between the powders/granules and the surfaces of the hopper
and dies has been suggested to be due to the ability of the particles of the glidants to
locate within the spaces between the particles/granules.
• To achieve this effect it is therefore necessary for the glidant particles to be firstly
small and, secondly, to be arranged at the surface of the particles/granules.
• Glidants are typically hydrophobic and therefore care should be taken to ensure that
the concentration of glidants used in the formulation does not (in a similar fashion to
lubricants) adversely affect tablet disintegration and drug dissolution.
• Examples of glidants used in tablet manufacture include: (1) talc; and (2) colloidal
silicon dioxide.
Miscellaneous excipients used in the formulation of tablets

• (1) adsorbents
• (2) sweetening agents/flavours
• (3) colours
• (4) surface-active agents.
 ADSORBENTS
• Adsorbents are used whenever it is required to include a liquid or
• semisolid component, e.g. a drug or a flavour, within the tablet formulation.
• As the production of tablets requires solid components, the liquid/semisolid
constituent is adsorbed on to a solid component which, in many cases, may
be one of the other components in the tablet formulation (e.g. diluent)
during mixing.
• If this approach is not possible, an adsorbent is specifically included in the
formulation.
• Examples of these include: (1) magnesium oxide/carbonate; and (2)
kaolin/bentonite.
 Magnesium oxide/carbonate
• Magnesium oxide is a solid adsorbent that is commercially available in
two forms termed light (less dense, 5 grams, occupying circa 40–50 ml)
and heavy (more dense, occupying 10–20 ml).
• Magnesium carbonate consists of several forms (hydrate, the basic
form and anhydrous).
• Both salts are employed as adsorbents in tablets within the
concentration range of 0.5–1.0% w/w.
• In addition, magnesium oxide may also be used as a glidant whereas
magnesium carbonate is used as a diluent.
• Both salts are basic and therefore may interact with acidic drugs.
 Kaolin/bentonite
• These are natural materials that are composed of hydrate aluminium
silicate. Unlike kaolin, bentonite is a colloidal material and therefore
the particle size of this excipient is lower than for kaolin.
• These excipients are employed as adsorbents within the
concentration range of 1.0–2.0% w/w.
 Sweetening agents/flavours
• Sweetening agents and flavours (in accordance with other dosage
forms) are employed to control the taste and hence the acceptability
of tablets.
• These agents are of particular importance if the conventional tablet
contains a bitter drug or, more importantly, if the tablet is a chewable
tablet.
 Colours
• Coloured tablets are generally formulated either to improve the
appearance or to identify the finished product uniquely.
• In some formulations the drug is coloured and, when manufactured, may
result in the tablet exhibiting a speckled, and hence, inelegant
appearance.
• To obviate this problem, an appropriate colouring agent is included in the
tablet formulation.
• It is important that the colour is distributed equally throughout the tablet
and this is normally achieved by adding a water-soluble colour to the
granulation liquid in the wet granulation method of manufacturing tablets.
 Surface-active agents
• Surface-active agents may be incorporated into tablets to improve the
wetting properties of hydrophobic tablets and hence increase the rate of
tablet disintegration.
• In addition, surface-active agents may increase the aqueous solubility of
poorly soluble drugs in the gastrointestinal tract and, as a result, the rate of
dissolution of the active agent will increase.
• One of the most popular choices of surface-active agent for this purpose is
sodium lauryl sulphate.
• However, it should be noted that the surface-active agent should not
interact with the therapeutic agent as this may affect the dissolution rate of
the drug.
 Tablet defects
• Typically there are three main types of tablet defect observed: (1) pitting;
(2) capping; and (3) lamination.
• Pitting refers to the production of pit marks on the surface of the tablet
and is accredited to insufficient lubricant at the tablet/punch interface or
punches with a roughened surface.
• This defect may be corrected by increasing the concentration of lubricant
in the formulation or by altering the mixing conditions (time and rate of
mixing), whereas punches should be polished regularly to prevent such
adhesions.
• Capping and lamination refers to the mechanical splitting of the tablet.
• In the former scenario, the top (cap) of the tablet is fractured whereas in
lamination the fracture may occur within the main body of the tablet.
 Capping and lamination
• These two tablet defects occur during the ejection stage of the
manufacturing process and are accredited to stress-induced fracture.
• Alteration in the formulation/manufacture to increase the strength of the
tablets may resolve these problems.
• For example, the type and concentration of the binder may be altered,
whereas capping and lamination of tablets may occur if the geometry of the
punches is intricate.
• Whilst increasing the compression pressure is known to increase the
mechanical strength of tablets, it should be noted that the application of
excessive stresses often results in a reduction in the tablet strength, which
may result in capping and lamination.