Effect of Intensity of Agitation on Disintegration Time of Tablets

The effect of the intensity of agitation on the disintegration time of tablets was studied. Preliminary results obtained using tablets fabricated under controlled conditions and selected commercial tablets revealed that the intensity of agitation produced in the test apparatus was not reproducible with fixed geometry for successive runs when the settings were maintained constant. The disintegration times increased at a lower intensity of agitation. The intertablet range values obtained were rather large at the start and increased with a corresponding decrease in the intensity of agitation. The results showed that the measurement of disintegration times with the existing apparatus may not serve as a guide to the pharmaceutical formulator in the preparation of optimal dosage forms of drugs for clinical trial and may not ensure lot-to-lot uniformity of the pharmaceutical product.