Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1138630
Tablets & Capsules July 2019 32G for tablets containing vitamin C, and character or animal shapes can be used to make a nutraceutical tablet more appealing to children (Photos 1a and b). For designer shapes, dietary supplement manufacturers should consult a professional tablet tooling designer, because complex shapes tend to have vulnerable, high-stress areas that can wear or break during compression. Choosing a robust tablet shape and design can help reduce tooling wear and impregnation, common issues when working with abrasive nutraceutical ingredients. If a tablet face requires a punch with a deep concave cup, the punch tip will wear quickly around the steepest areas of the cup, as the granules will tend to move laterally and cre- ate friction during compression, as shown in Figure 1a. extremely challenging for manufacturers because the natu- ral ingredients in dietary supplements are usually unre- fined, abrasive, corrosive, and hard, making the formula- tions difficult to compress into quality tablets. If the wrong tablet press tooling is used, it can lead to subpar tablets, production problems and downtime, and premature tool- ing wear or damage, all of which increase production costs. A proactive approach is needed to combat the problems faced during nutraceutical production. During the earliest stage of product development, manufacturers must care- fully examine the tablet design and the properties of the steel used to produce the punches and dies to ensure that the tooling will be up to the task of tableting aggressive nutraceutical formulations. Get in shape Tablet design is key to producing quality nutraceutical tablets. Tablets comprising vitamins and minerals, on aver- age, tend to be larger than pharmaceutical tablets, as nutra- ceutical formulations can have as many as 50 active ingre- dients and two to eight excipients; whereas pharmaceutical tablet formulations generally contain one to four APIs and around five or six excipients. Moreover, nutraceutical ingredients tend to be courser, and as a result more damag- ing to tooling, than pharmaceutical ingredients. These fac- tors, among others, will affect the design of the tablet shape and profile. Tablet shape can vary from simple round and oval shapes to uniquely shaped and branded products. More elaborate shapes can be used to promote identification and branding. For example, an orange slice shape could be used Photos 1 a and b: While unique and branded shapes can help with product differentiation and customer appeal, such designs can make tablet production tricky. A tablet design expert can help achieve the correct tablet shape without sacrificing tooling strength. Figure 1 An exaggerate example of granule movement across punch tips during compression a. Concave punch cup b. Flat punch cup Nutraceutical ingredients tend to be courser, and as a result more damaging to tooling, than pharmaceutical ingredients.