Study of talcs as antisticking agents in the production of tablets

Talc is defined as a crystalline structure characteristic of lamellar structures. Antisticking power varies according to the talc considered. Besides chemical properties, it is necessary to assess physical properties related to functionality. It is difficult to define the physical properties of talc implicated in its antisticking power. In this work, we characterized different talcs and then evaluated their performances in reducing sticking in tablet manufacturing. We compared talcs before and after delamination which is a way to obtain talcs with different physical characteristics. Granulometric analysis was carried out by laser diffractometry using a method which made it possible to assess the mean thickness of the lamellar particles. We defined a functionality assay on a single punch press to assess the antisticking power of talcs. The different talcs tested possess a very variable antisticking power towards Avicel PH 102. They present different basal dimensions and particle thickness. The force necessary to detach tablets from the punch surface varies according to the functioning time of the tablet machine, the percentage of talc and the basal dimension of talc. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.