PREPARATION AND EVALUATION OF A COMPRESSED TABLET RAPIDLY DISINTEGRATING IN THE ORAL CAVITY

In order to make a compressed tablet,which can rapidly disintegrate in the oral cavity, microcrystalline cellulose and low-substituted hydro xypropylcellulose were used as disintegrants, and ethenzamide and asco rbic acid were chosen as poorly and easily water soluble model drugs, respectively. The mixture of microcrystalline cellulose and low-substi tuted hydroxypropylcellulose was compressed at 100-500 kgf in the abse nce of an active ingredient, The properties of these tablets, such as hardness, porosity, the time required for complete wetting of a tested tablet (wetting time), water uptake and disintegration time determine d by a new disintegration apparatus, were investigated to elucidate th e wetting and disintegration characteristics of these tablets, When th e MCC/L-HPC ratio was in the range of 8:2 to 9:1, the shortest disinte gration time was observed. The disintegration of tablets containing et henzamide or ascorbic acid was examined next, Tablet disintegration ti me in the oral cavity was also tested, and good correlation between th e disintegration behaviors in vitro and in the oral cavity was recogni zed.