Predictive model for tensile strength of pharmaceutical tablets based on local hardness measurements

In the pharmaceutical field, tablets are the most common dosage forms for oral administration. During the manufacture of tablets, measures are taken to assure that they possess a suitable mechanical strength to avoid crumbling or breaking when handling while ensuring disintegration after administration. Accordingly, the tensile strength is an essential parameter to consider. In the present study, microscopic hardness and macroscopic tensile strength of binary tablets made from microcrystalline cellulose and caffeine in various proportions were measured. A relationship between these two mechanical properties was found for binary mixture. The proposed model was based on two physical measurements easily reachable: hardness and tablet density. Constants were determined from the two extreme compositions of this given system. This model was validated with experimental results, and a comparison was made with the one developed by Wu et al. (2005). Both models are relevant for this studied system. Nonetheless, with this model, the tablet tensile strength can be connected with a tablet characteristic at microscopic scale in which porosity is not needed.