Crush resistance and insufflation potential of poly(ethylene oxide)-based abuse deterrent formulations

This study was conducted to evaluate suitable methods of testing crush-resistant tablets composed largely of thermoplastic polymers. The objectives were, i) to evaluate the effect of thermal processes on crush resistance, ii) to develop test method(s) to indicate whether a crush-resistant tablet is susceptible to tampering by insufflation based on generated particle sizes, and iii) to find an appropriate analytical tool for discriminatory studies.

We investigated the crush-resistance properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) tablets using three manual and four electrical devices. PEO tablets were directly compressed or further heat-treated to mimic thermal manufacturing processes (i.e. hot-melt extrusion, sintering). Differential scanning calorimetry was also utilized to evaluate effect of thermal processes on polymer properties.

Non-heat treated tablets were easily crushed by all methods. Heat-treated tablets were only susceptible to cryogenic grinding and high-powered domestic blender. Our results confirm that manual methods are not suitable for discriminatory study.

Testing methods for crush resistance may not be applicable to all products nor allow control over all process factors. Notwithstanding, the use of high-powered electrical devices may be an effective discriminatory tool for testing heat treated PEO-based ADFs.