TABLETS

PHARM.D 4th SEMESTER

INTRODUCTION

 According to the USP, tablets are solid dosage forms,

containing medicinal substances with or without
suitable diluents.
 In the European Pharmacopoeia, tablets are defined as
‘solid preparations each containing a single dose of one
or more active substances
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 Tablets are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors,

and surface markings
 They may differ greatly in size and weight, depending on the
amount of drug substance present and the intended method of
administration
 Most tablets are used in the oral administration of drugs. Many of
these are prepared with colorants and coatings of various types.
 Other tablets, such as those administered sublingually, buccally,
or vaginally, are prepared to have features most applicable to
their particular route of administration
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 Some tablets are scored, or grooved, which allows them to be
easily broken into two or more parts. This enables the patient to
swallow smaller portions as may be desired, or when prescribed,
it allows the tablet to be taken in reduced or divided dosage.


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 Some tablets that are not scored are not intended to be

broken or cut by the patient since they may have special
coatings and/or drug release features that would be
compromised by altering the tablet's physical integrity.
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 Most commercial tablets can be divided into two general classes:
whether they are made by compression or molding.
1. Compressed tablets are manufactured with tablet machines
capable of exerting great pressure in compacting the powdered or
granulated material
2. Molded tablets are prepared on a large scale by tablet machinery
or on a small scale by manually forcing dampened powder
material into a mold from which the formed tablet is then ejected
and allowed to dry.
 Tablets are used mainly for systemic drug delivery but may also
be used for local drug action
ADVANTAGES
(a) Precision and low content variability of the unit dose
(b) Low manufacturing cost
(c) Easy to package and ship
(d) Simple to identify
(e) Easy to swallow
(f) Appropriate for special-release forms
(g) Best suited to large-scale production
(h) Most stable of all oral dosage forms
(i) Essentially tamperproof
DISADVANTAGES
(a) Some drugs resist compression into tablets.
(b) poor bioavailability of drugs due to unfavourable drug
properties, e.g. poor solubility, poor absorption properties
and instability in the gastrointestinal tract.
(c) Some drugs (e.g., those with an objectionable taste or
odor, those sensitive to oxygen or atmospheric moisture)
require encapsulation or entrapment before compression.
These drugs are more appropriate in capsule form.
TYPES OF TABLETS
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 Tablets for oral ingestion are designed to be swallowed

intact, with the exception of chewable tablets.
 Tablets may be coated for a number of reasons: to mask the
taste, color, or odor of the drug; to control drug release; to
protect the drug from the acid environment of the stomach;
to incorporate another drug and provide sequential release
or avoid incompatibility; or to improve appearance.
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1. Compressed Tablet (CT)
Compressed tablets are formed by compression.
They are made from powdered, crystalline, or granular
materials, alone or in combination with binders,
disintegrants, controlled-release polymers, lubricants,
diluents, and, in many cases, colorants.
The vast majority of commercialized tablets today are
compressed tablets, either in an uncoated or coated state.
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2. Multiple Compressed Tablets

Multiple compressed tablets are prepared by subjecting the fill
material to more than a single compression
The result may be
a) a multiple-layer tablet or
b) a tablet within a tablet, the inner tablet being the core and the
outer portion being the shell
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 Layered tablets are prepared by compressing a tablet granulation around

a previously compressed granulation. The operation is repeated to produce
multiple layers
 Each layer may contain a different medicinal agent, separated for reasons of
chemical or physical incompatibility, staged drug release, or simply the unique
appearance of the layered tablet.
 Usually, each portion of fill is a different color to produce a distinctive-looking
tablet.
 In preparation of tablets within tablets, special machines are required to
place the preformed core tablet precisely within the die for application of
surrounding fill material
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3. Sugar-Coated Tablets (SCT)
 Sugar-coated tablets are compressed tablets surrounded by a coloured or
uncoloured sugar coating
The coating may be added to
a) protect the drug from air and humidity,
b) to provide a barrier to a drug’s objectionable taste or smell, or
c) to improve the appearance of the tablet

 Among the disadvantages to sugarcoating tablets are the time and

expertise required in the coating process and the increase in size, weight,
and shipping costs.
 Sugarcoating may add 50% to the weight and bulk of the uncoated tablet
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4. Film-Coated Tablets
 Film-coated tablets are compressed tablets coated with a
thin layer of a polymer capable of forming a skin-like film.
 The film is usually colored and has the advantage over
sugarcoatings in that it is more durable, less bulky, and less
time-consuming to apply.
 The film typically increases tablet weight by only 2% to 3%
 By its composition, the coating is designed to rupture and
expose the core tablet at the desired location in the
gastrointestinal tract
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5. Controlled-Release Tablets (CRT)
These tablets, as well as capsule versions, can be categorized into three
types:
1) those that respond to some physiological condition to release the
drug, such as enteric coatings;
2) those that release the drug in a relatively steady, controlled manner;
and
3) those that combine combinations of mechanisms to release pulses of
drug, such as repeat action tablet
Extended Release, Sustained Release, Prolonged Release, Delayed
Release, Repeat Action etc
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6. Enteric-Coated Tablets (ECT)

 Enteric-coated tablets have delayed-release features.
 Enteric-coated tablets are compressed tablets coated with substances that
resist solution in gastric fluid but disintegrate in the intestine.
 Enteric coatings can be used for
a) tablets containing drug substances inactivated or destroyed in the
stomach,
b) for those that irritate the mucosa, or
c) as a means of delayed release of the medication.
 Enteric-coated tablets are a form of delayed-action tablet. However, not all
delayed-action tablets are enteric or are intended to produce an enteric
effect.
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7. Repeat-action tablets
 Repeat-action tablets are layered or compression-coated tablets in
which the outer layer or shell rapidly disintegrates in the stomach.
 The components of the inner layer or inner tablet are insoluble in
gastric media but soluble in intestinal media
8. Extended-Release Tablets
 Extended-release tablets (sometimes called controlled-release
tablets) are designed to release their medication in a
predetermined manner over an extended period
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9. Chewable Tablets
 Chewable tablets, which have a smooth, rapid
disintegration when chewed or allowed to dissolve in
the mouth, have a creamy base, usually of specially
flavored and colored mannitol.
 Chewable tablets are especially useful for
administration of large tablets to children and adults
who have difficulty swallowing solid dosage form
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10. Buccal and Sublingual Tablets
 Buccal and sublingual tablets are flat, oval tablets intended to be
dissolved in the buccal pouch (buccal tablets) or beneath the
tongue (sublingual tablets) for absorption through the oral mucosa.
 They enable oral absorption of drugs that are destroyed by the
gastric juice and/or are poorly absorbed from the gastro intestinal
tract.
 Buccal tablets are designed to dissolve slowly, whereas those for
sublingual use (such as nitroglycerin [NTG]) dissolve promptly
and provide rapid drug effects
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 Lozenges or troches are disc-shaped solid dosage
forms containing a medicinal agent and generally a
flavoring substance in a hard candy or sugar base.
 They are intended to be slowly dissolved in the oral
cavity, usually for local effects, although some are
formulated for systemic absorption.
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11. Effervescent Tablets

 Effervescent tablets are prepared by compressing granular
effervescent salts that release gas when in contact with water.
 These tablets generally contain medicinal substances that dissolve
rapidly when added to water.
 The “bubble action” can assist in breaking up the tablets and
enhancing the dissolution of the active drug
 Effervescent tablets are used to obtain rapid drug action, for
example for analgesic drugs or to facilitate the intake of the drug,
for example for vitamins.
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12.Tablet Triturates
 Tablet triturates are small, usually cylindrical, molded, or
compressed tablets containing small amounts of usually potent drug
 Tablet triturates are usually made from moist material, using a
triturate mold that gives them the shape of cut sections of a cylinder.
 Such tablets must be completely and rapidly soluble.
 Today, only a few tablet triturate products are available
commercially, with most of these produced by tablet compression.
 Since tablet triturates must be readily and completely soluble in
water, only a minimal amount of pressure is applied during their
manufacture
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13. Hypodermic Tablets
 Hypodermic tablets are soft, readily soluble tablets and were originally used
for the preparation of solutions to be injected.
 Since stable parenteral solutions are now available for most drug substances,
there is no justification for the use of hypodermic tablets for injection.
14. Dispensing Tablets
 Dispensing tablets are no longer in use.
 They might better have been termed compounding tablets because the
pharmacist used them to compound prescriptions; they were not dispensed
as such to the patient.
 Dispensing tablets provide a convenient quantity of potent drug that can be
incorporated readily into powders and liquids, thus, circumventing the
necessity to weigh small quantities