Effects of lubricants on binary direct compression mixtures

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of conventional lubricants including a new candidate lubricant on binary direct compression mixtures. Magnesium stearate (MGST), stearic acid (STAC), glyceryl behenate (COMP) and hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) were tested. The binary mixtures were 1:1 combinations of spray dried lactose (FlowLac 100), dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (Emcompress), and modified starch (Starch 1500) with microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH 102). Tablets were manufactured on a single-station instrumented tablet press with and without lubricants. In the case of unlubricated granules, the modified starch-microcrystalline cellulose mixture provided the highest percent compressibility value at 8.25%, spray dried lactose-microcrystalline cellulose mixture was 7.33%, and the dialcium phosphate dihydrate-microcrystalline cellulose mixture was 5.79%. Their corresponding tablet crushing strength values were: 104 N, 117 N, and 61 N, respectively. The lubricant concentrations studied were 0.5, 1, 2, and 4%. Effects of lubricant type and lubricant concentration on crushing strength were analyzed using a factorial ANOVA model. It was found that the Avicel PH 102-Starch 1500 mixture showed the highest lubricant sensitivity (110 N vs. 9 N), the least affected formulation was FlowLac-Avicel PH 102 mixture (118 N vs. 62 N). The crushing strength vs. concentration curve for MGST showed a typical biphasic profile, a fast drop up to 1% and a slower decline between 1 and 4%. The STAC, COMP, and HBN for all formulations showed a shallow linear decline of tablet crushing strength with increasing lubricant concentration. The HBN was as effective as MGST as a lubricant, and did not show a significant negative effect on the crushing strength of the tablets. The COMP and STAC also did not interfere with the crushing strength, however, they were not as effective lubricants as MGST or HBN.