- /
- Case Studies / Pharmaceutical Tablet Crush and Break Strength
Pharmaceutical Tablet Crush and Break Strength
Solution
- Software-controlled compression tester or texture analyzer
- Load cells rated to match the expected maximum tablet forces
- Custom fixtures designed to crush or snap small, brittle products
Benefits
- Repeatable testing using software-controlled systems
- Multiple test configurations with interchangeable fixtures
- Formulation consistency and resilience: quantitative evaluation of fracturability and hardness of the tablets.
Requirement
Drugs (tablet form) have to maintain some level of packability, transportability, and longevity as well as be viable, i.e., with regard to dispersal and dissolution. Excessively fragile and hard tablets may undermine performance or patient experience.
Mechanical testing offers a convenient, objective approach to the measurement of physical strength, and it will provide a reliable result that can be applied uniformly within a batch of production. It also enables formulation changes to be analyzed quantitatively, which is to establish that resilience and dispersion properties lie within specification.
Solution
In this testing approach, a texture analyzer or compression tester is fitted with a 500 N intelligent load cell and a 38 mm (1.5 inch) cylinder probe. The software advances the probe to contact the tablet, then applies a precise additional displacement—enough to induce fracture without unnecessary overtravel. Break detection automatically halts the probe, returning it to its starting position.
The resulting force-displacement graph highlights the peak force at fracture initiation and profiles resistance from tablet fragments as compression continues. The initial yield point is critical, representing the start of breakage and a key indicator of tablet strength.
For assessing snap resistance, a mini three-point bend fixture can be used on notched tablets. This simulates user handling, quantifying the force needed to break a tablet for consumption while verifying durability against stresses encountered during packaging, storage, and transit.
Tablet break strength must strike a balance between robustness and usability. Mechanical testing provides repeatable, precise measurements regardless of minor size variations, offering clear insight into initial fracture behavior. Early testing allows upper and lower tolerance thresholds for break force to be defined, facilitating in-line quality control with instant pass/fail feedback, reducing production risk, and optimizing cost-efficiency.
Test Equipment
Software-controlled texture analyzer or compression tester
Perspex compression probe for crush testing
Mini three-point bend fixture for snap/break assessment
Test standards
