Tensile strength and compression of coated pharmaceutical powders: tablets.

A study has been made of the tensile strength and compression during tableting of lactose, sodium chloride and calcium phosphate powders after they had been coated with small amounts of stearic acid, polyethylene glycols and polyvinylpyrrolidones. The properties of the systems were measured over a range of temperatures. The tensile strength and the compression behaviour depended not only on the amount and type of the coating material but also on the homologous temperature of processing. The changes in tensile strength have been explained in terms of changes in interparticle separation, changes in interparticle forces and the formation of welded bonds by the coatings. The compression results have been analysed in terms of the Heckel and the Cooper & Eaton equations.