Effect of the deformability of guest particles on the tensile strength of tablets from interactive mixtures

In this study, we investigated the influence of deformability of specifically-engineered guest particles on the tensile strength of tablets of interactive mixtures. The binder polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) of different molecular weights were spray dried with L-leucine to create guest particle formulations. The guest particle formulations were characterized by their particle size, surface L-leucine concentration and glass transition temperature (Tg). These spray-dried particles were then blended with paracetamol to form interactive mixtures, which were compacted into tablets and tablet tensile strength and elastic recovery were determined. The guest particles had particle diameters in the range of 1–10 μm, and surfaces that were L-leucine enriched. The Tg of guest particle formulations increased with increasing molecular weight of the PVP. All the guest particle formulations formed an observed homogeneous interactive mixture with paracetamol. The tensile strength of the tablets of interactive mixtures increased with decreasing Tg of the guest particles. In these interactive mixtures, higher tensile strength was also associated with lower tablet elastic recovery. The elastic recovery of the tablets showed a correlation with the elastic recovery of the tablets of guest particles. Thus, our results indicated that the deformability of guest particles dictates the tensile strength of the tablets of these interactive mixtures.