Arachem (M) Sdn Bhd

Thickness Testing

The thickness of a tablet is critical to its therapeutic efficacy since thickness impacts on disintegration and dissolution behaviour. In addition, thickness can be a useful indicator of the consistency, or otherwise, of tablet weight which is controlled to ensure dose uniformity.

The weight of a compressed tablet is dependent on three factors: Density, Diameter, Thickness.

Though a modern tablet press should provide a good level of uniformity, there are several potential sources of variation, the most important of which is powder flow which can affect the uniformity with which the die is filled before compaction. Mechanical wear and imperfections in the pressing or tooling may also introduce variability, as can the build-up of material on the punch face or die wall during a run. Any of these factors may impact tablet weight and the physical consistency of manufactured tablets.

Monitoring tablet thickness at regular intervals allows potential problems relating to tablet weight and hence content uniformity to be detected and efficiently diagnosed at an early stage.