Ultrasound Transmission Technique as a Potential Tool for Physical Evaluation of Monolithic Matrix Tablets

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of tablet porosity and particle size fraction of compacted Starch acetate powders, with and without model drug caffeine, on acoustic properties of tablets. The ultrasound velocity was determined from the transmission measurements. Tablets of starch acetate (SA DS 2.7) powder with two particle size fractions of 0-53 and 0-710 μm were compressed with a compaction simulator. Porosities of tablets varied in the range from 12% to 43% for both particle size fractions. Strong associations were found between the ultrasound velocity and physical properties of the tablets such as porosity and particle size fraction. Interestingly, ultrasound velocity was practically insensitive to inclusion of the model drug caffeine with the concentrations used. Based on this study ultrasound transmission method is a potential non-destructive tool for studying structural changes of tablets and other solid dosage forms.

Quantification of lubrication and particle size distribution effects on tensile strength and stiffness of tablets

“…Ultrasound (US) measurements were made using a pulser/receiver unit (Panametrics, 5077PR), a pair of longitudinal wave contact transducers (Panametrics, V606-RB) with a central frequency and diameter of 2.25MHz and 13mm, respectively, a digitizing oscilloscope (Tektronix TDS3052), and a computer controlling the data acquisition. Parafilm tape was used, suggested by Hakulinen et al (2008), to improve the contact between transducers and tablets. From the acquired data, the time of flight (TOF) was obtained using the first peak of the received US signal.…”

Ultrasound transmission measurements for tensile strength evaluation of tablets

“…Recently, ultrasound based measurement systems have been introduced in pharmaceutical tablet research. Ultrasound can be used to determine the porosity and elastic properties of pharmaceutical tablets and to detect defects and anisotropy of compacted forms (Hakulinen et al, 2008;Akseli et al, , 2009Leskinen et al, 2010). Hakulinen et al, 2008 measured the speed of sound of tablets with varying porosities and noted that the speed of sound decreased with increasing porosity.…”

“…Ultrasound can be used to determine the porosity and elastic properties of pharmaceutical tablets and to detect defects and anisotropy of compacted forms (Hakulinen et al, 2008;Akseli et al, , 2009Leskinen et al, 2010). Hakulinen et al, 2008 measured the speed of sound of tablets with varying porosities and noted that the speed of sound decreased with increasing porosity. According to the studies by Akseli et al ( , 2009) the mechanical properties of compacts and tablets could be determined accurately using ultrasound.…”

Real-time in-die compaction monitoring of dry-coated tablets

“…It is widely known that dwell-time is a key parameter defining the end-mechanical properties of the compacted tablet, such as hardness and porosity. For pharmaceutical applications, uses of a wide-spectrum of acoustic techniques for investigating the tablet hardness with ultrasonic methods (Lum and Duncan-Hewit, 1996), the effects of tablet porosity and particle size fraction of compacted on acoustic properties of tablets (Hakulinen et al, 2008), acoustic emission during compaction (Serris et al, 2002), their potential in identifying counterfeit tablets (Medendorp and Lodder, 2006), elasticity, integrity and defect states of tablets (Ketolainen et al, 1995;Varghese and Cetinkaya, 2007;Akseli et al, 2008bAkseli et al, , 2009, and mechanical characterization of multi-layer tablets (Akseli et al, 2010) have been reported.…”