The sound of tablets during coating erosion, disintegration, deaggregation and dissolution

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Tablet disintegration significantly impacts drug release predictability, yet current analysis methods are lacking.
• Existing techniques for disintegration analysis are costly, time-consuming, and inefficient.
• There is a need for simple, green, and efficient methods for pharmaceutical solid dosage form analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the gap in understanding tablet disintegration mechanisms and their effect on drug release.
• To introduce a novel quantitative measurement technique for tablet disintegration and dissolution.
• To develop a more efficient and accessible method for pharmaceutical formulation testing.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of Broadband Acoustic Resonance Dissolution Spectroscopy (BARDS).
• Integration of BARDS with minimal UV spectroscopy for comprehensive process tracking.
• Analysis of acoustic signatures specific to tablet manufacturing and excipient composition.

Main Results:

• BARDS effectively tracks sequential tablet processes: coating erosion, disintegration, deaggregation, and dissolution.
• The study demonstrates the capability of BARDS combined with UV spectroscopy.
• Intrinsic acoustic signatures were identified for solid oral dose formulations, correlating with manufacturing methods and excipients.

Conclusions:

• BARDS offers a novel, quantitative approach to analyze tablet disintegration and dissolution.
• This technique provides a simpler, greener, and more efficient alternative to current methods.
• Tablet acoustic signatures can reveal information about their manufacturing process and composition.