Elucidating the Splitting Behavior of Tablets to Optimize the Pharmacotherapy in Veterinary Medicine

BEDOGNI G.; PIRES F. ; CHAKER J. ; SÁ-BARRETO L.; SEREMETA K.; OKULIC N.; SALOMON C.; CUNHA FILHO M.

AAPS PHARMSCITECH

SPRINGER

Año: 2021 vol. 22

1530-9932

It is well known that the splitting of tablets can bring serious risks to the healthof the treated animals, e.g., the possible adverse reactions caused by overdoses offenbendazole or aspirin. In this regard, this work aimed to evaluate, for the first time, thesplitting behavior of commercial veterinary tablets and identifying the technological aspectsthat interfere in this process. Tablets were cut in halves using a tablet splitter and wereanalyzed regarding mass variation, mass loss, friability, and hardness. Microstructural andmorphological evaluations were also performed. For most of the tablets, organic flavoradditives provided more uniformity and cohesive matrix, which preserved its hardness afterthe cut and led to subdivision results within acceptable limits for mass measurements andfriability. Apart from the microstructure, the most critical technological aspect for a correctsplitting performance in such tablets was the presence of a score. Thus, the results presentedhere allow us to guide the manufacturing of veterinary drug products in order to producetablets more adapted to the splitting process.