Instrument

al Seminar

Dr. Vikas
17/04/2009 Dept. Of Rasashastra
Saroch 1
 CONTENTS

Ø INTRODUCTION
Ø TABLET HARDNESS
Ø HISTORY
Ø MODERN INSTRUMENTATION
Ø WHY TEST
Ø MEASURING UNIT
Ø TEST METHODS
Ø INSTRUMENTS
Ø CONCLUSION
Ø REFERENCES
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 INTRODUCTION

Ø The compressed tablet is one of

the most popular dosage forms .
Ø About one-half of all
prescriptions dispensed are for
tablets.
Ø Usually one considers a
compressed tablet as an oral
medication.
Ø Tablets have many other uses.
Ø The sublingual tablet, the pellet,
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the wafer, and the vaginal insert
 TABLET HARDNESS

Ø Defined as “ The force required to

break a tablet in a diametric
compression test.”
Ø Hard enough to withstand
mechanical stress during
packaging, shipment, and handling
by the consumer.
Ø Section <1216> of the USP 24/NF19
outlines a standard tablet friability
test applicable to manufactured
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tablets. Dept. Of Rasashastra 4
 TABLET HARDNESS

Ø There are various devices to test

the hardness of the tablet :
Ø Monsanto tester
Ø Strong- cobb tester
Ø Pfizer tester
Ø Erweka tester.
Ø Schleuniger tester

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 HISTORY

Ø The first tablet hardness tester

was introduced around the
mid-1930s.
Ø Purely mechanical device and is
still manufactured today.
Ø Force was applied with a screw
thread and spring until the
tablet fractured and the
hardness was read from a
sliding scale graduated in ½ kg
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 Contd…
Ø This was followed by the so-
called Strong-Cobb tester,
introduced around 1950.
Ø The testing force was
generated by a manually
operated air pump and the
tablet breaking force was
measured on a dial graduated
in 30 arbitrary units which were
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designated as Strong-Cobbs.
 Contd…..

Ø The results given by the Strong-

Cobb tester were not consistent
with those of the earlier tester.

Ø Electro-mechanical tablet
hardness testing machines
were later introduced and have
evolved into electronic test
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 Modern instrumentation

Ø Contain a motor drive system to

generate the force.
Ø Automatically detect the tablet.

Ø Fracture displaying the force in a

variety of units.
Ø Measurements can be printed and / or
downloaded to a computer .
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 need for test

Ø Too ‘soft’ tablets can disintegrate in

transport.

Ø Too ‘hard’ tablets could damage

teeth.

Ø Tablet strength testing is necessary

for both, research & development of
new formulations,
17/04/2009
and for quality
Dept. Of Rasashastra 10
 MEASURING UNIT

ØNewton (N) – The Newton is the

SI unit of force and is the unit
that should be used for tablet
hardness testing. 9.807
Newton = 1 kilogram
Ø Kilopond (Kp)
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 Contd…
Ø Strong-Cobb (SC) – The Strong-
Cobb is a legacy of the first
tablet hardness testing
machines.
Ø An arbitrary unit
Ø Never recognized by the SI
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system. Dept. Of Rasashastra 12
 TEST METHODS

Ø The standard method used for tablet

hardness testing is compression testing.

Ø The tablet is placed between two jaws

that crush the tablet. The machine
measures the force applied to the tablet
and detects when it fractures.

Ø This method is used for research &

development and for quality control.
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 Monsanto Hardness
Tester
Ø Developed
approximately 50 years
ago.
Ø Consists of a barrel
containing a
compressible spring
held between two
plungers.
Ø The lower plunger is
placed in contact with
the tablet ,and a zero
reading is taken.
Ø The upper plunger is
then forced
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against a spring by
 Monsanto Hardness
Tester

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 Strong-cobb tester

Ø Consist of a
plunger
activated by
pumping a lever
arm, which
forces an anvil
against a
stationary
platform by
hydraulic
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pressure.
Dept. Of Rasashastra 16
 Pfizer tester

Ø Operates on
the same
mechanical
principle.
Ø 1st pliers
handles are
squeezed.
Ø Tablet is
compressed
17/04/2009
between a
Dept. Of Rasashastra 17
 TABLET HARDNESS
TESTER
Ø Can be fitted
on either bench
or tablet ling
machine.

Ø Includes :
Engineered
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 3 in 1 - Type PTB 311E

Ø Test :
Thickness,
Diameter or
Length and
Hardness of the
same Tablet
Ø Hardness: 2.0 -
approx. 330 N
17/04/2009
(Newton)
Dept. Of Rasashastra 19
Tablet Hardness Test Type :
PTB 302

Ø Test the
Hardness of
tablets, cores,
capsule
shaped
samples.
Ø Hardness:
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 CONCLUSION

Ø All the different varieties of

testing machines would give
the same results (if used on the
same batch of tablets).
Ø Machine ‘accuracy’ would equal
Machine ‘resolution’.

Ø All pharmaceutical companies

would use the same SI unit of
measurement (N or kg) and the
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 References

Øwww.pharma-test.com
Øwww.indiamart.com
Øwww.pharmaceuticalonline

Øwww.google.com

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 THANK YOU

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