A preliminary report describing a new tablet granulation is presented. T h e process for preparing tablets using this granulation is described. Potential advantages resulting from its use are discussed in the following areas: (a) ease of manufacture, (6) improvement of stability, (c) utilization of pigment colorants, (A) admixture of incompatible chemicals, (e) tableting of thermolabile and moisture-labile materials, and tf) improvement in tablet physical properties.
HIS PAPER is a preliminary report of a new Tbasic tablet granulation and a rapid and inexpensive process for preparing tablets using this granulation.
Until now, commercial tablet manufacture was based on one of two standard methods, wet granulating or slugging (double compression). These methods are lengthy, expensive, dusty, and inflexible in that the granulations must usually be specially formulated for each different active ingredient. In addition, conventionally prepared granulations are often the cause of such difficulties as the following in tablet manufacture: capping, caused by an excess of "conventional" fines in the granulation ; the incorporation of thermolabite or moisture-labile materials; mottling (spotting) during coloring of the tablets; hatch-to-batch color variation; and excessive moisture content of the finished granulation, leading to short shelf life with moisture-sensitive products.
Granulations prepared b y the methods described in this paper have none of these undesirable characteristics. It is possible t o prepare a granulation rapidly and inexpensively that has a uniform distribution of particle size within a very narrow range. This granulation then may simply be admixed with any active ingredient. This type of granulation allows the production of tablets having excellent color distribution. This method is much more rapid because the following steps of conventional wet granulating are eliminated: reduction of particle size, preparation of granulating solution, granulating, screening of wet mass, drying, and screening of dry material.