COMPRESSIBILITY AND FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF BINARY MIXTURES OF METRONIDAZOLE WITH LACTOSE AND MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE.
M. A. ODENIYI, T. O. ABOBARIN, O. A. ITIOLA
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Abstract:

A research study was made on the compressibility and flow characteristics of Metronidazole in binary mixtures with Lactose and Microcrystalline cellulose powders as diluents. The maximum volume reduction due to packing as it is expressed by the Kawakita constant, a, and the angle of internal flow, θ, were used as assessment parameters.
The individual powders were characterized for their particle size distribution and shape using an optical microscope. Binary mixtures of various proportions of Metronidazole with Lactose powder and Microcrystalline cellulose were prepared. The bulk and tapped densities, angle of repose, angle of internal flow, and compressibility index of the individual and powder mixtures were determined using appropriate parameters. A 2² (=4) factorial experimental design was used in order to study the influence of the nature and concentration of the diluent on a and θ of the powder and powder mixtures.
The results obtained showed that the packing and cohesive properties of the binary mixtures depended on the nature of the diluent, particle shape and size, particle size distribution, and the concentration of the diluent. The calculated values of volume reduction ability ‘a’ due to tapping for the Metronidazole-Lactose and Metronidazole- Microcrystalline cellulose binary mixtures obtained from the Kawakita plots were higher than the determined values from the tapping experiment. This suggests that the Kawakita plot is more reliable in determining the maximum volume reduction than the tapping procedure. The results from the factorial experimental design showed that changing the diluent from low to high concentration in both mixtures served to increase the maximum volume reduction parameter, while no significant (p >0.05) effect was observed when the diluent was changed from Lactose to Microcrystalline cellulose. However, changes in the nature and concentration of diluents caused an increase in the angle of internal flow.
The results obtained would be useful in the handling and industrial processing of these powders and in the production of powders, tablets, capsules and other drug delivery systems with desirable and predictable flow properties.

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