This is the simplest process for the production of tablets. It consists of three main steps: powder blending, lubrication, and compression. Atomized lipid excipients are used as lubricants or modified-release agents in direct compression.
Advantages of lipid excipients in direct compression:
- batch-to-batch composition uniformity, ensuring high quality and performance of final product (adequate for QbD development)
- chemical inertness, preventing incompatibilities with other excipients or with drug
- tablet hardness, resulting in robustness as product is not affected by compression
Range of functional excipients for direct compression:
- Lubricants to decrease friction between particles and compression tools
- Compritol® 888 ATO—for challenging pharmaceutical tablets
- Compritol® HD 5—for water-dispersible tablets

- Modified-release agent to produce robust lipid matrix tablet
- Compritol® 888 ATO—a well-established sustained-release agent with precedence of use and numerous publicationsdemonstrating efficacy

Sticking issue
Sticking during tableting is a relatively common problem. It is often attributable to tooling and machine setup. However, the formulation, active ingredient, and excipients can play an important role. We conducted an in-house study to evaluate the cause of punch adhesion or “sticking,” which occasionally occurs during the compression of powder formulations containing Compritol® 888 ATO. Our study concludes that sticking is primarily due to a combination of factors, including formulation with a “sticky” API and use of ingredients with reduced interparticle bonding capacity.
Contact Gattefossé for the full study report.