Multi components of tablets ( diluents)
Components of tablets ( Excipients):
- Diluent
- Adhesive (binder)
- Glidant
- Disintegrants
- Coloring agents
- Flavoring agents
- Coating agents
Diluents:
Diluents or the so-called filler are used in tablets, especially in low doses, for the drug, to increase the volume of the drug, because the drug tablet contains a small percentage of the drug, so another supplement is required for the weight of the drug tablet, and sometimes it is used for powder flow.
Conditions that must be met in diluents:
1- bulking agents (10-50%)
2- It must be chemically and physically compatible.
3- The filler must be biologically compatible.
4- The diluents should be well compressible.
Example of diluents (filler):
1- One of the most common examples of diluents is lactose for several reasons, which are as follows:
- Good solubility in water
- Pleasant taste
- It does not interact with drug
- Commercially available and cheap.
- Non-hydroscopic
2- fast flo lactose: It is a lactose spray that contains lactose crystals and a small amount of amorphous lactose so that it dissolves very quickly in water, also not only lactose, but there are other types of sugar used as diluents for tablets such as sucrose, glucose and starch, as well as sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol .
3- cellulose : The most widely used is microcrystalline cellulose, as it is commercially available under the name Avicel and is used in the pharmaceutical industry. There are certain grades such as Avicel ph-101 (powder) and Avicel ph-102 (granules).
Advantages of using cellulose in the manufacture of tablets: Shows self-disintegration and requires little lubricant.
Disadvantages of using cellulose in the manufacture of tablets: hygroscopic this is a problem for drugs prone to hydrolysis.
4- Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate: The best diluents for drugs that are sensitive to water, such as aspirin, due to the fact that Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate possessing a low concentration of unbound moisture and having a low affinity for atmospheric moisture.
The advantages of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate is that it has minigranules, and this helps in increasing volume and improves flow and mixing.