Tablets are the favored dosage form for numerous active pharmaceutical ingredients, among others because they are easy to take, ensure safe dosing and allow cost-effective production on a large scale. This dosage form is also frequently chosen for the administration of viable probiotic microorganisms. Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells granulated in a fluidized bed process, with dicalcium phosphate (DCP), lactose (LAC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as carrier materials, were tableted using a compaction simulator, varying the compression stress. The tablets were analyzed regarding physical properties, e.g., porosity and tensile strength, as well as microbial survival. Carrier material and compression stress showed a significant influence on survival rate and physical tablet properties. The dependencies were related to material specific deformation characteristics and linked to mechanistic approaches to explain the different sensitivities.
Keywords: Compactibility; Compressibility; Deformation behavior; Porosity; Probiotics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Tableting; Tensile strength.
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