Optimization of Microcrystalline Cellulose PH 101, Lactose, and Kollidon® K 30 To Obtain Co-Processed Excipient Through Spray Drying

Abstract

The most efficient tablet processing method is direct compression. For this method, the filler-binder can be made by coprocessing via spray drying method. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of spray dried co-processing on microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) PH 101, lactose and Kollidon® K 30 as well as to define the optimum proportions. Spray dried MCC PH 101, lactose, and Kollidon® K 30 were varied in 13 different mixture design proportions to obtain compact, free-flowing filler-binder co-processed excipients (CPE). Compactibility and flow properties became the key parameters to determine the optimum proportions of CPE that would be compared to their physical mixtures. The result showed that the optimum proportion of CPE had better compactibility and flow properties than the physical mixtures. The optimum CPE, consisting of only MCC PH 101 and Kollidon® K 30 without lactose, that were characterized using infrared spectrophotometer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicated no chemical change therein. Therefore, this study showed that spray dried MCC PH 101, lactose and Kollidon® K 30 could be one of the filler-binder alternatives for direct compression process.