A New Perspective of Multiple Roller Compaction of Microcrystalline Cellulose for Overcoming Re-Compression Drawbacks in Tableting Processing.

Here at Gamlen we are highlighting some of the fascinating and ground-breaking research that has been carried out by our customers in our Paper of the Month posts.

This month’s paper investigates the effect of reworking MCC on its compaction behaviour with some surprising results. To do this, the authors repeatedly subjected MCC to roller compaction. They then used a Gamlen Powder Compaction Analyser to carry out Heckel and Kawakita compaction behaviour assessments after each roller compaction cycle.

Figure 5: SEM of non-compacted Avicel PH-101

Figure 5: SEM of non-compacted Avicel PH-101 01. (A), roller compacted Avicel-1st compaction. (C), and roller compacted Avicel-3rd compaction cycle (D) at magnification of 3000×.compaction cycle

Graph Image: Figure 2. Bulk density as a function of compaction cycles

Figure 2. Bulk density as a function of compaction cycles

  • MCC was subjected to multiple high pressure roller compaction cycles.
  • Tablet crushing strength was found to be reduced after the first and second roller compaction cycles. This reduction in tablet strength correlated to an increase in intra-granular pore size and hence higher tablet porosity compared to the original MCC.
  • Surprisingly, MCC subjected to three roller compaction cycles produced stronger tablets than non-compacted MCC.
  • It was concluded that intense compression causes shedding of one or more layer from MCC fibers exposing new surfaces with strong binding ability.

CONCLUSION

Intensified roller compaction can be employed to improve MCC powder compactibility This could facilitate reworking or reprocessing of MCC in tablet making.

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