Effect of Moisture of Pharmaceutical Material MCC Avicel PH102 and Tablet Diameter on the Compression Process and Tablet Strength

Abstract This paper focuses on the effect of moisture of powder material on the process of tablet compression and on tablet mechanical strength. The powder used in the experiments was Avicel PH102 microcrystalline cellulose, as it is the most widely used excipient in direct tablet compression. The compression process is described using the Heckel equation and the strength of the tablets was determined using a Brazilian test. To introduce the reader to the issue, the first part of the paper is devoted to a theoretical introduction. The second part of the work is devoted to the description of experimental equipment and work procedure. The last part of the paper presents the results of the experiment and their evaluation. The reason for this experiment was the assumption that the moisture of the raw material significantly affects the compression process and the mechanical strength of the tablet. A series of experiments demonstrated this effect, which can be seen in the respective graphs.