Elucidating the effect of salt incorporation in tablets on tablet disintegratability

Abstract

The disintegration of tablets plays a crucial role in facilitating drug release, and disintegrants are used in tablet formulations to promote the disintegration process. This study aimed to explore and understand the impact of salt incorporation on tablet disintegratability. The study was designed to modulate the microenvironment temperature of tablets through dissolution of salts incorporated in the formulation, with the aim to facilitate tablet disintegration. It was observed that the incorporation of salts generally prolonged tablet disintegration. The impact of incorporating salts on tablet properties was both concentration-dependent and multi-factorial. The observed effect of salts on tablet disintegration was likely influenced by a combination of factors, including different properties of the salts, enhanced solubility of components, the temperature difference between the tablet and the disintegration medium, the expansion of air resulting from increased microenvironment temperature, and the competition for water between salts and disintegrants. These factors collectively contributed to the overall impact of salts on tablet disintegration.