Cross-linked cellulose as a tablet excipient

摘要

Cross-linked cellulose is an excellent binder disintegrant that can be used in the preparation of pharmaceutical tablets. The tablets that are so prepared are made of a compressed mixture of a powder of a pharmaceutically active ingredient with a powder of a pharmaceutical excipient including a pharmaceutically acceptable form of cross-linked cellulose in an amount up to 35% by weight with respect to the total weight of the tablet. The cross-linked cellulose is prepared by cross-linking microcrystalline or fibrous cellulose with a cross-linking agent such as epichlorhydrin in a relative amount of 2 to 50 g of cross-linking agent per 100 g of cellulose. Tests have proved that cross-linked cellulose is very easy to synthetise and has excellent binding/disintegrating properties that are function of the cross-linking degree. At low cross-linking degree, cross-linked cellulose is more a binder than a disintegrant whereas at high cross-linking degree, it is more a disintegrant than a binder.