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Defected tablets are the most common problem in pharmaceutical manufacturing. These defects may occur in any stage of manufacturing from raw material to final product packaging. The defects may occur due to any human error, equipment malfunction or any environmental factor. In this article, we will focus on tablet defects that occur during manufacturing.
Millions of tablets are produced every day by the pharmaceutical manufacturers. But every tablet looks defect-free, it took hard work and checks at every stage of manufacturing. By this, the company can produce defect-free medicines consistently for patients.
Defects in tablets may occur in any type of tablet due to different causes. For example, they can be caused by issues with the manufacturing process like any equipment malfunction or any change in equipment setting or sometimes it may occur due to human error. These tablet defects can have serious consequences that can cause harmful effects on patients.
Pharmaceutical companies take many steps to avoid these problems. They take samples at every stage of manufacturing and check for defects. Some automated systems are also used at different stages of the manufacturing process to check the defect and prevent the defective product from going out in the market.
Defects in Tablets during Manufacturing
Defects in tablets can arise due to problems in core tablets such as lump formation or poor compression. Some defects may occur due to problems in coating solution composition or method of coating like improper spraying of coating solution. Sometimes defects may occur in the final stage like cracking or creasing of the tablets.
Tablet defects have a significant effect on pharmaceutical product quality. They can occur at any stage of manufacturing and reduce the yield and increase the manufacturing cost. In some cases, defects can have an impact on patient safety. To avoid these problems of tablet defects, all possible sources of errors should be eliminated, those can occur during the manufacturing process. This will ensure to meet the customer expectations and production of defect-free products. To achieve this defect-free production, manufacturers need to take a number of steps such as using high-quality raw materials and equipment as well as an effective quality control system.
Causes of Tablet Defects
Tablet defects may occur in a variety of ways but the most common causes are raw material and manufacturing processes. The following are the 5 most common causes of tablet defects.
1. Inadequate Tablet Compression: Compression is one of the key steps of tablet manufacturing that compresses the powder into the tablet form. Inadequate compression can make the tablets too soft they can break easily during transport or during further steps like coating and packaging.
2. Incorrect Tablet Shape: Incorrect tablet shape is another common tablet defect that causes problems. Too round or too oblong tablets with sharp edges may have cracks easily on their edges during shipping and transportation.
3. Inadequate Tablet Coating: Coating is the protective layer of the tablet and protects the tablet from environmental conditions. But improper coating can cause defects in the tablets. It includes the improper coating solution composition, coating solution spray, or coating machine settings like rotation, spray rate or aeration.
4. Poor Quality Material: Finding the high-quality raw material is challenging for pharmaceutical manufacturers. One poor-quality ingredient can lead to the production of poor-quality tablets.
5. Faulty Manufacturing Process: A faulty manufacturing process is a leading factor in tablet defects. Issues like bubbles in the coating solution or excessive drying of material or tablets during the coating process can cause defects in the tablets. These defects look small during processing but show their high impact on finished products.
