Studies of wet granulation in small scale high shear mixer of 20 mg tablets of policosanol.

Abstract

It was studied the influence of three factors in the manufacturing process of tablets containing 20 mg of policosanol in a small scale when was used a high shear mixer. A factorial design without repetitions was used, considering as independent variables: volume of binder solution, kneading time and the use or not of chopper. Data analysis was carried out using the Yates algorithm, considering the effect of these three factors over the diameter of the granules, the percent of fine powders in granulate and the compression forces. The diameter of the granules was increased with an increase in the volume of the binder solution added and with an increase in the kneading time and was decreased when the chopper was used. The percent of fine powders, present in granulate, was significantly diminished with an increase of the volume of binder solution and diminished with an increase in the kneading time, the influence of the use of chopper was insignificant. The compression forces diminished with the use of chopper, with the increase of the volume of binder solution used and are not affected with the changes in the kneading time.