Microscopic fractures shown inside tablets after impact

Abstract

In prior work, rough handling of oral tablets had been observed to drastically speed up their disintegration in water. The purpose of this study was to confirm or refute that the formation of internal microscopic fractures during rough handling is the underlying mechanism. Impacted and control tablets were subjected to micro-computed tomography and to brightness-mode ultrasound. The former revealed fracturing with a maximum crack width of 14μm. The latter revealed strong acoustic response from the internal structure of the impacted tablets. These results confirm the hypothesis. Disintegration speed is used as a quality control mechanism after tablet manufacturing and transportation.