Friability | Tablet Friability Test Method

It is related to the ability of the tablets to resist shock and abrasion without fragmenting during the process of manufacturing, packaging, transportation and use by the user. These defects make it lose elegance and acceptance by the consumer, causing accumulation of dust in the areas of coating and packaging, in addition to causing problems of uniformity of dose.

There are friabilizers with double compartments to run two simultaneous samples. The test is performed with clean tablets of known weight, these are subjected to abrasion and shock using a 6-inch radius plastic disc that rotates at 25 rpm for 4 minutes (100 cycles). High friability can also be due to wear of the punches. A low percentage of humidity serves as a binder (2-4%), however, very low humidity (1%) can cause high friability.

Process:

For tablets weighing up to 0.65 g each, take a sample equivalent to 6.5 g; for tablets weighing

more than 0.65 g, take a sample of ten units and remove dust particles with the help of air or a soft brush. Weigh the sample tablets exactly and place it in the drum. Rotate the drum 100 times and remove the tablets. Remove dust particles with the aid of air or a soft brush. If quantity of broken tablets are unknown, weigh them exactly.

Results analysis – Usually the test is performed only once. If the loss of weight is greater than 1%, repeat the test twice and calculate the average of the three determinations.