Advantages of impact testing over hardness testing in determining physical integrity of tablets.

An investigation of four different tablet strength tests was carried out on four different placebo formulations (differing in Avicel: Pharmatose ratios). The results analysis compared fatigue failure, work of failure, and impact failure to diametrical compression measurements (hardness). The impact results clearly show how different formulations can have the same hardness, yet their impact resistance can vary by as much as 200%. The impact test used in this work and other tests described are useful in tablet development to understand, compare, and mitigate tablet breakage during subsequent unit operations.