THE EFFECT OF PARTICLE AND POWDER PROPERTIES ON THE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF DIRECTLY COMPRESSED CELLULOSE TABLETS

The inherent material properties of four cellulose powers were evaluated and the effect of these properties on the mechnical strenght and surface hardness of direct compression tablest was studied. Two of the materials studied were the other two were experimental cellulose powers, and agglomerated cellulose and a deploymerized cellulose. The agglomerated cellulose powder formed the strongest as well as the hardest tablets. Also both microcrystalline celluloses formed clearly stronger tablets than depolymerized cellulose, but surface hardness of the tablets compressed using these three cellulose powders was, however, quits similar. The most important material property affecting the breaking strength of tablets was the suesific surface area of the starting material. No correlaiton between cystallinity, particle size or particule shape starting material and the strength of tablets was observed. The surface hardness of tablets showed no simple correlation with the breaking strenth of tablets or with any single material property of cellulose powders. It is obvious, compacion could affect markeldy the hardbness of the compact surface, thus possibly masking the effect of a single material property. © 1990 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.