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50 April 2016 Tablets & Capsules tablet hardness at lower compression forces. Higher hardness can also add strength and prevent or decrease chipped, broken, capped, and lami- nated tablets. Tests showed that the addition of 0.25 percent of M-5P fumed silica to a powder compressed at 0.25 metric tons (mt) facilitated an 81 percent improvement in tablet hardness when compared to tablets formulated without fumed silica. observed in tablets that contained fumed silica (Figure 4). Compaction The addition of fumed silica facili- tates particle flow and rearrangement during the early stages of tablet com- pression, which can increase the bonding strength between particles in the tablet. This leads to better tablet/capsule compaction and higher When the compression force reached 0.5 mt, tablet hardness was shown to improve by 104 percent (Figure 5). Spray drying Spray drying is commonly used to microencapsulate ingredients, co - process multiple ingredients, granu- late formulations, and change the morphology and liquid state of mate- rials. The addition of fumed silica to ingredients and formulations can help alleviate clogs in the spray dryer's atomizer. It can also decrease the amount of product that sticks to the walls and thereby increase throughput. It has also been shown to improve the drying profile of tacky materials and to serve as a nucleation aid. T&C References 1. CAB-O-SIL is a registered trademark of Cabot Corp. 2. John McCarty's columns appeared in the January, March, and April issues of 2015. They're avail- able at www.tabletscapsules.com. Elizabeth Sims is applications develop- ment lead and Michael Famiglietti is technical service manager at Cabot Corp., 157 Concord Road, Billerica, MA 01821. Tel. 978 663 3455. Web- site: www.cabotcorp.com. Figure 4 Effect of M-5P fumed silica on coefficient of variation of API in tablet formulations 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0.5% M-5P fumed silica No glidant 12 higher coefficent of variation if glidant is not used Coefficient of variation (%) Note: Tablets contained 10 percent APAP and 90 percent lactose or 10 percent APAP, 89.5 percent lactose, and 0.5 percent M-5P fumed silica. 1 5 15 Mixing time (min) Figure 5 Effect of M-5P fumed silica on tablet hardness at different compression forces 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 No glidant 0.25% M-5P fumed silica added 81% improvement in tablet hardness 104% improvement in tablet hardness Tablet hardness (kp) 0.25 0.5 1.0 1.5 Compression force (mt) Now on T&C ' s website: • Industry Events • Resources • Online Buyer's Guide Follow us on Twitter @TabletsCapsules Can't find what you need? E-mail us at: tc@cscpub.com W W W. T A B L E T S C A P S U L E S. C O M