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Tablet Dosage Forms
The tablet is the most commonly used oral dosage form. It is also
quite complex in nature. The biggest problem is overcoming the
reduction in effective surface area produced during the compression
process. One may start with the drug in a very fine powder, but then
proceeds to compress it into a single dosage unit.
Ingredients
Tablet ingredients include materials to break up the tablet
formulation.
- Drug - may be poorly soluble, hydrophobic
- Lubricant - usually quite hydrophobic
- Granulating agent - tends to stick the ingredients together
- Filler - may interact with the drug, etc., should be water
soluble
- Wetting agent - helps the penetration of water into the tablet
- Disintegration agent - helps to break the tablet apart
Coated tablets are used to mask an unpleasant taste, to protect
the tablet ingredients during storage, or to improve the tablets
appearance. Another barrier is placed between the solid drug and drug
in solution. This barrier must break down quickly or it may hinder a
drug's bioavailability.
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Copyright 2001-3 David W. A. Bourne (david@boomer.org)
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