Comparison of Compressibility, Compactability and Lubricant Sensitivity of Two Partially Pregelatinized Starches

Modified starches are widely employed excipients in tablets compression. The ability of materials to deform under pressure (compressibility) and create strong compacts (compactability) is then important for tablet manufacture. This study aims to evaluate and compare two partially pregelatinized starches, viz. Starch® 1500 and Lycatab® C, from the perspectives of compressibility, compactability, and lubricant sensitivity. Compressibility was evaluated by means of the compression energy profile and a stress relaxation test. Compactability was evaluated by means of the tablets tensile strength, and lubricant sensitivity was characterized by the lubricant sensitivity ratio (LSR) values. The lubricants employed were magnesium stearate and sodium stearyl fumarate at concentrations of 0.5 and 1%, respectively. In the case of the mixtures with 1% magnesium stearate, the influence of the mixing time was also evaluated.

Starch® 1500 showed better compressibility than Lycatab® C due to its lower precompression and total energy values. On the opposite, the plasticity was higher for Lycatab® C. This material has also better compactability, yields stronger tablets, but had higher lubricant sensitivity than Starch® 1500. Different compressibility and compactability was found for Lycatab® C and Starch® 1500 and therefore, they cannot be easily interchanged in tablet manufacture. Continue on Comparison of Compressibility, Compactability and Lubricant Sensitivity of Two Partially Pregelatinized Starches