TABLETS

Specific objectives:
1. Define the term tablets
2. Describe the various types of tablets
3. Explain the design and formulation of compressed tablets

Tablets are defined as the solid unit dosage forms of medicament with or without suitable
diluents and prepared either by moulding or by compression. They vary in shape, size and
weight which depend on the amount of medicament and the mode of administration.
Advantages of tablets as a dosage form
1. They are easy to carry
2. They are easy to swallow
3. They are attractive in appearance
4. Unpleasant taste can be masked by sugar coating
5. They do not require any measurement of dose.
6. Some tablets are divided into halves and quarters by drawing lines during manufacturing
to facilitate breakage when a fraction of a dose is required (scored tablets).
7. An accurate amount of medicament even if very small can be incorporated.
8. Tablets provide prolonged stability to medicaments.
9. The incompatibilities of medicaments and their deterioration due to environment factors
are less in tablet form.
10. They are produced on a large scale hence their cost of production is relatively low.
Essential qualities of a good tablet
1. They should be accurate and uniform in weight
2. The drug should be uniformly distributed throughout the tablet and released in a
controllable and reproducible way.
3. The size and shape should be reasonable for easy administration
4. The tablet shouldn’t be too hard that it may not disintegrate in the stomach.
5. There should be no incompatibilities i.e. any excipients or contaminants that can harm
the patient.
6. They should be chemically, physically and biologically stable during storage and the
lifetime of the product.
7. They should not break during transportation or crumble in the hands of the patient.
 8. They should be elegant and attractive in appearance
9. There should not be any manufacturing defects like cracking, chipping or discolouration.
10. They should be economical in production
11. They should be packaged in a safe and convenient manner.
Types of tablets
A. Based on the method of manufacture, tablets are classified into two classes:
i) Moulded tablets
ii) Compressed tablets
Compressed tablets are prepared on large scale while moulded tablets are prepared
extemporaneously on small scale.
B. Based on drug release characteristics, they may be classified into three classes:
i) Immediate release
ii) Extended release
iii) Delayed release
The two main types are further classified into:
Compressed tablets:
1. Oral tablets
2. Chewable tablets
3. Buccal / sublingual tablets
4. Lozenges
5. Soluble tablets
6. Effervescent tablets
7. Implants
8. Vaginal tablets (inserts)
9. Enteric coated tablets
10. Sustained action tablets
11. Sugar coated tablets
12. Film coated tablets
13. Layered tablets
14. Press coated tablets
Moulded tablets
1. Hypodermic tablets
2. Dispensing tablets
Moulded tablets /Tablets triturates
They are small disc shaped tablets prepared by forcing a soft mass into the cavities of a mould.
Potent medicaments and highly toxic drugs in small doses are used for preparing moulded
tablets. The potent medicaments are diluted with dextrose, sucrose or a mixture of lactose and
sucrose.
The mixed powders are moistened with a suitable dilution of alcohol and mixed thoroughly to
get a soft mass.
The soft mass is pressed into the perforations of a mould with a spatula. The excess mass is
then removed.
The perforated plate of the mould filled with the mass is placed over another plate having
exactly the same number of projecting pegs as that of perforations.
These projections pegs completely fit into the holes
A little pressure is applied over the top plate.
The ejected tablets are placed in single layers on a clean surface and dried either by keeping in
a warm place or hot air oven.
1. Hypodermic tablets
- Hypodermic tablets are soft, readily soluble tablets that are made in a tablet triturate
mould.
- They are used for preparing solutions to be injected
- In selecting materials for hypodermic tablets, care is taken to ensure they are
completely and readily soluble.
- They should be free from bacterial contamination.
2. Dispensing tablets
These are prepared for providing an accurate and convenient quantity of drug that can be
incorporated readily in compounding other dosage forms e.g. liquids, powders, capsules and
eliminate the necessity for weighing small quantities of potent substances.
Compressed tablets
1. Oral tablets
They are meant to be swallowed. They are placed over the tongue and swallowed with water or
any other suitable liquid. They are formulated in such a way that they disintegrate in the GIT
from where absorption takes place.
Oral tablets must disintegrate in a very short time so the medicaments should be freely soluble
in GIT fluid or a disintegrant should be added in the formulation.
2. Chewable tablets
They should be broken and chewed before ingestion. They are given to children who have
problems in swallowing or adult who dislike swallowing.
Various antacids and multi vitamin tablets are prepared as chewable tablets. For their
preparation, Mannitol is used as a base. It is a white crystalline chemically inert, non-
hygroscopic, thermostable powder and is as a sweet as glucose. It doesn’t have any
objectionable effects. However, it is expensive and is not used for low cost tablets.
Other substances used include sorbitol, lactose, chocolate powder, dextrose etc.
They should have a very acceptable taste and flavour. They should disintegrate in a short time
and produce a cool sweet taste.
The use of gums which produce hard granules should be avoided. The lubricants used should
have an agreeable taste.
3. Sublingual/Buccal tablets
They are placed below the tongue (sublingual) or in the side of cheek (buccal). Nitroglycerine
dissolves in 1-2 minutes to produce immediate effect.
These tablets contain those drugs which can be destroyed, inactivated or are not absorbed
in the GIT but are directly absorbed through the mucosal tissue of the oral cavity.
They contain large proportions of sweetening agents e.g. Mannitol or sucrose to impart
sweetness. They are small to allow fast disintegration and drug release.
4. Lozenge tablets
These tablets should not disintegrate in the oral cavity but dissolve slowly in the mouth to
produce a continuous effect in the mucous membrane of the throat and mouth.
They include local anesthetics and antibiotics. They are slow release tablets for local treatment.
They can be prepared by moulding or by compression. Disintegrants are not incorporated
The quantity of binding agents is increased to produce slow dissolution.
The formulations must contain sweetening colouring, flavouring agents.
The fillers and binders must have good taste. Fillers include glucose sorbitol, Mannitol.
The common binder is gelatin.
5. Soluble tablets
They are required to dissolve completely in a liquid to produce a solution of a definite
concentration.
The solutions so prepared include mouthwashes, gargles, skin lotions, vaginal douches,
Minerals, antibiotics and vitamins. All the ingredients must be completely soluble in the solvent.
6. Effervescent tablets
These tablets contain tartaric acid, NaHCO3, citric acid among other medicaments that react in
the presence of water liberating carbon dioxide leading to the disintegration of the tablet. This
hastens dissolution and improves palatability.
7. Vaginal tablets/inserts
Vaginal pessaries may be prepared by compression and are known as vaginal tablets.
Antibiotics and steroids are formulated in this way. Soluble additives are used for their
preparation.
They are generally ovoid or almond shaped for ease of insertion.
Plastic tube inserters can be used for placing these tablets in the vaginal tract.
Some laxative suppositories are also formulated as compressed tablets. The active
medicaments are mixed with disintegrating agents which either; makes the tablet to swells up
after absorbing moisture or produce effervescence thus facilitating disintegration.
These rectal tablets are covered with thin layers of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with acts as a
protective cover and also facilitate the insertion of these tablets into the rectum.
8. Implants
They are small tablets meant for insertion under the skin via a small surgical cut into the skin,
which is then stitched after the insertion of the tablet.
The tablets are implanted IM of Sc and therefore must be sterile. Implants are prepared to
provide a slow and continuous release of the drug over a prolonged period ranging from 3-6
months or even more Hence, they are made water insoluble.
No excipients are used and they are compressed under high pressure.
They are more commonly used in veterinary medicine than human medicine.
They can be used for birth control in human e.g. NorplantR
9. Enteric coated tablets
These tablets are required to be disintegrated in the intestine and not in the stomach.
They are given a coating which makes the tablets to pass the stomach intact but break in the
alkaline medium of the intestine.
10. Sustained action tablets
These are tablets that after oral administration release the drug at a desired time and prolong
the effect of the medicament. Repeat action tablets are used to periodically release a complete
dose of the drug to the GT fluids thus maintain a constant concentration.
11. Sugar coated tablets
These are compressed tablets which are given a sugar coating to mask the objectionable taste
and odour of the drug and to protect the substances from atmospheric conditions.
 12. Film coated tablets
These are compressed tablets and are given a thin coating of water soluble material that
protects the drug from atmospheric conditions. Various polymers are used for film coating.
13. Layered tablets
These are compressed tablets in which the granules of incompatible substances are
compressed into two or more layers successively in the same tablet.
Special tabletting machines are required for layered tablets.
14. Press coated tablets
The granules of incompatible ingredients are compressed around the previously compressed
tablets. These are made on special tabletting machines in two successive compressions.
They can be used for giving enteric coating and sustained release to the medicaments.

Formulation of tablets
Compressed tablets consist of active ingredients mixed with a number of inert substances
known as excipients or additives. The additives are termed as inert but they have a greater
influence on stability, bioavailability and the process by which the dosage forms are prepared.
The additives are classified according to their functions:
1. Diluents / fillers
2. Binders
3. Granulating agents
4. Lubricants
5. Colouring agents
6. Flavouring agents
7. Sweetening agents
8. Disintegrating agents
9. Glidants (for improving the flowability of the powder)
10. Adsorbents
11. Anti-adherent – reduce the adhesion been the powder and the punch face
Diluents
When the quantity of a drug for an individual dose is very small and not practicable to compress
in the form of a tablet, then an inert substance is added to increase the bulk of the powder.
These inert substances are called diluents. Examples of diluents are lactose, NaCI, starch,
powdered sucrose, Mannitol, calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate and calcium phosphate.
Binders
Some substances which are available in crystalline form can be compressed directly but most
drugs have to be converted to granules before compression.
The agents used during granulation to impart cohesiveness to the powdered substances are
known as binders.
Binders keep the tablets intact after compression. Examples are starch, tragacanth, gelatin,
glucose, lactose, sucrose and methyl cellulose.
In some formulations, binders are used in the dry form while in others they are used as liquids
by dissolving them in a suitable solvent like water, alcohol or a mixture of the two.
The quantity of the binder depends on the use of the tablets e.g. lozenges and implants need a
higher percentage of binders. Those that should disintegrate fast need a lower proportion of
binders.
Granulating agents
These are substances added to powders before the granulating process .they convert fine
powders into granules.
The quantity of the granulating agents is very critical. An insufficient quantity will lead to poor
adhesion, soft tablets and capping. Excess quantity may lead to hard tablets with greater
disintegration time and decreased bioavailability. Examples include mucilage of acacia,
tragacanth, water, starch, liquid glucose, syrup and alcohol in various dilutions.
Disintegrating agents
They are substances added to tablets to facilitate the breaking up into small particles in the GIT
for faster dissolution.
These are two types.
1. Substances which swell when they come into contact with moisture e.g. maize starch or
potato starch.
2. Substances which react with effervescence when they come into contact with moisture.
Maize starch or potato starch have great affinity for water and swell up when exposed to water
thus breaking the tablet apart.
Other disintegrants include; veegum, methylcellulose, agar, bentonite, carboxyl methylcellulose,
citrus pulp.
Some manufacturers use sodium lauryl sulphate alongside starch as a disintegrating agent to
increase rate of dissolution. These produces better wetting of the granules hence faster
dissolution of the drugs.
Effervescence substances include a combination of NaHCO3 and Tartaric acid or citric acid.
When this combination encounters moisture in the stomach, they produce effervescence thus
disintegrating the tablet.
Disintegrating agents are added into two portions;
The major part is added to the powder before granulation. The other is mixed with the drug
granules along with the lubricants
These serve two purposes;
The disintegrant added after granulation breaks the tablet into granules and the portion added
before granulation breaks the granules into fine powder facilitating the dissolution of the drug.
Disintegration time depends on many factors
i) Quantities of diluents, binders, lubricant
ii) Tablet hardness
iii) Size of the granules
iv) Coatings
Lubricants
These are substances which are added to granules before compression to improve the flow of
granules from the hopper to the die cavity by reducing interparticulate friction.
They prevent adhesion of the powders to the surface of the dies and punches thus reducing
wear and tear of the dies and punches and facilitate the ejection of the tablets from the die
cavity after compression. Examples include magnesium stearate, stearic acid, and talc.
Others: coco butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, liquid paraffin, waxes etc.
Colouring agents
Are used to impact elegance to the tablets or/and to identify different types of tablets.
Only approved colours are used. These colours may be added in the mixed powders before
granulation or they may be dissolved in the vehicles used for making the granules.
Flavouring agents
Flavours are added to all lozenges, chewable tablets and effervescent tablets.
They are dissolved in a suitable organic solvent and sprayed over the granules before
compression.
Fruit flavouring are incorporated in the mixed powders before granulation.
Sweetening agents
They are added to tablets which are required to be dissolved in the buccal cavity.
The bases for their formulation are sweet e.g. Mannitol, lactose, sucrose and lactose.
They impact sweetness of varying degrees.
Sweetness may be enhanced by including additional quantities of sucrose or artificial
sweetening agents like cyclamates and saccharin.