EFFECT OF COMPRESSION SPEED AND PRESSURE ON THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MALTODEXTRIN TABLETS

The present paper studies the effect of applied pressure (0-300 MPa) a nd compression speed (8 and 40 cycles/min) on the physical characteris tics of four varieties of maltodextrins for direct compression. The ma terials were tableted by using a single-punch tablet machine. On the b asis of the mechanical properties it seems to be reasonable to propose a limit in the plastic deformation and consequently bonding between p articles. This limit could be approximately 90 MPa, and it was almost independent of the variety compressed. Disintegration behavior and, mo st probably, release properties are related with this limit; i.e., mec hanical parameters and disintegration time increased as applied pressu re was increased up to this limit. Above this limit, no differences of note were found. The different movement of particle layers in the sin gle-sided eccentric profile led to the computation of differences betw een upper and lower tablet hardness surfaces, which were indicative of a consolidation mechanism. The differences obtained were indicative o f the plastic deforming nature of maltodextrins.