10779/rcsi.10798070.v1 Ritesh M. Pabari Ritesh M. Pabari Zebunnissa Ramtoola Zebunnissa Ramtoola Application of face centred central composite design to optimise compression force and tablet diameter for the formulation of mechanically strong and fast disintegrating orodispersible tablets. Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 2019 Administration Oral Anti-Inflammatory Agents Non-Steroidal Calcium Compounds Chemistry Pharmaceutical Compressive Strength Excipients Factor Analysis Statistical Hardness Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions Ibuprofen Kinetics Linear Models Mannitol Models Chemical Particle Size Porosity Reproducibility of Results Silicates Solubility Starch Tablets Technology Pharmaceutical Sciences 2019-11-22 17:22:05 Journal contribution https://repository.rcsi.com/articles/journal_contribution/Application_of_face_centred_central_composite_design_to_optimise_compression_force_and_tablet_diameter_for_the_formulation_of_mechanically_strong_and_fast_disintegrating_orodispersible_tablets_/10798070 <p>A two factor, three level (3(2)) face centred, central composite design (CCD) was applied to investigate the main and interaction effects of tablet diameter and compression force (CF) on hardness, disintegration time (DT) and porosity of mannitol based orodispersible tablets (ODTs). Tablet diameters of 10, 13 and 15 mm, and CF of 10, 15 and 20 kN were studied. Results of multiple linear regression analysis show that both the tablet diameter and CF influence tablet characteristics. A negative value of regression coefficient for tablet diameter showed an inverse relationship with hardness and DT. A positive value of regression coefficient for CF indicated an increase in hardness and DT with increasing CF as a result of the decrease in tablet porosity. Interestingly, at the larger tablet diameter of 15 mm, while hardness increased and porosity decreased with an increase in CF, the DT was resistant to change. The optimised combination was a tablet of 15 mm diameter compressed at 15 kN showing a rapid DT of 37.7s and high hardness of 71.4N. Using these parameters, ODTs containing ibuprofen showed no significant change in DT (ANOVA; p>0.05) irrespective of the hydrophobicity of the ibuprofen.</p>