Comparison of Coating Efficiency Between a Vector Hicoater and a Manesty Accela Cota

Abstract The coating efficiency of a Vector HiCoater was compared to that of a Manesty Accela Cota. Studies were conducted in 24″, 52″, and 67″ HiCoaters, and in 24″ and 60″ Accela Cotas. The coating system was composed of yellow iron oxide, titanium dioxide, polyethylene glycol, and hydroxypropy1 methyl cellulose. Timed serial tablet samples were examined using a tri-stimulus colorimeter. The 67″ HiCoater applied 300 mg of coating solution per kilogram of tablets (480 kg pan load) in 209 minutes, whereas the 60″ Accela Cota applied a similar amount of material to a 360 kg pan load in 165 minutes. The Hunter Lab values at these times were 58.7 ± 0.4, 10.7 ± 0.5, and 29.8 ± 0.3 for the HiCoater, and 59.9 ± 0.2, 10.5 ± 0.4, and 30.0 ± 0.2 for the Accela Cota for L, a, and b respectively. Although the run time was 44 minutes longer with the HiCoater, the batch size was increased 33%.