Evaluation of quick disintegrating calcium carbonate tablets

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Materials Science

Background:

• Calcium carbonate (CC) is a common calcium supplement.
• Developing rapidly disintegrating tablets is crucial for patient compliance and efficacy.
• Direct compression offers a simpler manufacturing method compared to wet granulation or effervescence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To formulate rapidly disintegrating calcium carbonate tablets via direct compression.
• To compare the physical properties, disintegration, and dissolution of these novel tablets with commercially available calcium supplements.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of CC tablets using three different CC granules (Cal-Carb 4450, 4457, 4462) via direct compression.
• Evaluation of tablet breaking strength using a Stokes-Monsanto hardness tester.
• Assessment of disintegration and dissolution profiles using USP methodology.
• Calcium content determination via atomic absorption spectrophotometry.
• Surface topography analysis using scanning electron microscopy.

Main Results:

• Developed CC tablets exhibited breaking strengths between 7.2-7.7 kg, surpassing Citracal (6.2 kg) and approaching Tums (10 kg).
• Disintegration times ranged from 1.9 to 4.1 minutes, significantly faster than Tums (9.7 minutes).
• All formulations achieved 100% elemental calcium release in simulated gastric fluid within 20 minutes.

Conclusions:

• Rapidly disintegrating calcium carbonate tablets can be successfully formulated using direct compression.
• This method avoids the need for complex and costly effervescence technology.
• The developed CC tablets demonstrate comparable or superior disintegration and dissolution properties to existing commercial products.