Optical and terahertz measurement techniques for flat-faced pharmaceutical tablets: A case study of gloss, surface roughness and bulk properties of starch acetate tablets

Mikko Juuti, Heikki Tuononen, Tuukka Prykäri, Ville Kontturi, Marko Kuosmanen, Erkki Alarousu, Jarkko Ketolainen, Risto Myllylä, Kai-Erik Peiponen (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Surface and bulk properties of flat-faced starch acetate tablets were studied. For surface quality inspection optical coherence tomography and recently developed diffractive glossmeter were utilized. Both these optical devices together provide local information on surface roughness and gloss of a tablet over a measured area. The concepts of mean topography and mean gloss profile for surface quality of a tablet are introduced. It was observed that the surface quality of the tablet varies, and compression at high pressure may not guarantee a good surface quality of the tablet. Using novel statistical parameters for gloss and relevant surface roughness parameter, it is possible to get more comprehensive quantitative data on the surface condition of a tablet. THz spectrometer was utilized for detection of THz pulse delay in transmission measurement mode from the tablets. The delay time and thickness ratio of the tablet are consistent with the porosity of the tablet as a function of compression pressure. We suggest that the multimeasurement scheme using three different devices helps tablet makers to better assess bulk and surface quality of their products.
Original languageEnglish
Article number015301
Number of pages9
JournalMeasurement Science and Technology
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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